One way ticket to hell and back
by Crystal Exhibition
Summary: When you're working with the legal system of the underworld it helps to have some firsthand knowledge, a good backing team...and an ace or two up your sleeve. Just be prepared for the aftermath.
1. Chapter 1

2D climbed over the broken walls, busted furniture and other rubbish that had once made up the ground floor of Kong Studios. He knew enough to tread carefully, as the only light came from the cracks in the still standing walls and holes in the ceiling, so much of the rooms and hallways were shrouded in darkness. He didn't have any direction, really; he had just decided he couldn't sit still for a moment longer and had left Russel waiting downstairs. Also, he wanted to see first hand how much the place had changed since the last time they had all been together making music.

He was coming close to the remains of the cinema when he thought he'd heard a noise. After listening again and hearing nothing he shrugged and kept going. It wasn't until he was suddenly thrown off his feet by a tackle and pinned to the ground with something sharp pressing against his neck that he realized the sound wasn't in his head.

"Are you living or dead?" A feminine voice with an Essex accent asked sharply in the dark.

"What?"

"ARE YOU LIVING OR DEAD?" she asked again, with more urgency. The sharp edged pressed further into his neck.

"Wh…um…living…I guess." 2D stammered.

There was a tense moment and then the sharp edge moved away from his artery, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hang on" the voice said suddenly. He felt a hand on the side of his head push it sideways into a patch of light coming from the ceiling. "Oh my God, you're the singer."

Momentarily blinded and uncomprehending 2D simply said "What?"

"You're the singer. For the band that used this building. You're um…Stuart Pot. Am I right?"

"Well, yeah. Um, it's 2D. Miss, would you get off me please?"

The figure climbed off him and 2D got to his feet unsteadily, rubbing the front of his neck to make sure it was still intact.

"What are you doing here?" the woman asked him.

2D stared into the dark towards where the voice came from and scratched his head. "Well…It's my home, innit?"

"Look around love; it's not really much of anything anymore." She moved into better light, and the singer finally got a look at her. She was fairly young, a bit short, with blue eyes and long brown hair tied back in a high pony tail. She wore a dark t-shirt, jeans, and boots and carried a large sword in one hand.

2D pointed at said sword and asked "What's that for?"

"Protection." She answered simply. She sheathed her weapon and looked around. "Are you alone?"

"No, Russ is downstairs, we're waiting for-"

"Wait, Russel Hobbs?" she interrupted. "The drummer?"

When 2D nodded she muttered something the sounded suspiciously like "Damn it". But then she asked "Where is he?"

Before an answer could be given a deep voice rang out from down the hall; "D? Where'd you go, man?"

"Over here" the singer called back. "And there's a strange woman in the studio, with a sword."

"What?" Russel appeared as he climbed over the rubble. "Man, you seeing things or something?" As he came closer, he suddenly saw what his band mate was talking about. "Shit! Who the hell are you?"

She crossed her arms. "Think of me as your personal caretaker."

"What?"

"My name is Gillian" she said a bit more harshly. "And I'm the person who's been taking care of the mess you and your band made. So you can quit looking at me like I'm an intruder and tell me why you and the blue haired boy have decided to come back."

Russel had little patience left for this kind of thing right now. "Lady why on earth would I tell you anything? I don't know you or why you're here."

She didn't back down. "Because I'm the only one properly equipped to handle anything this place can throw out. My people have kept these lands in balance for centuries and I've been watching over this place since before Murdoc Niccals was given the deed. So if anything is happening I need to know about it."

The looked at each other hard for a moment, but something about her told the drummer she was telling the truth. After another moment of thought, and a quick glance at 2D, he decided to talk. "Look, two years ago our guitarist was kidnapped and taken into Hell, and-"

"Yes, Noodle" Gillian said. "I know."

Russel looked at her, surprised. "How much about us do you know?"

"I do have access to a telly and a computer" she replied, slightly annoyed. "I know as much about you as the public does. Also, I have resources that the public doesn't have and that fills in some of the blanks. Keep going."

"Well, anyway, Murdoc went down to hell to get her back. He'd been trying to do it through their legal system for a long time, and they're going to make a final decision on her soul any day now, so he's gone down to sort it out personally."

Gillian looked confused. "How on earth would he get down to Hell?"

"Through the mouth" 2D put in. When she still looked confused he said "There's a mouth to Hell in the basement, right at the lowest level. He went down through there."

When she realized he wasn't joking her eyes widened. "There's an actual mouth to Hell? Good God, do have any idea how dangerous that is?"

2D shrugged. "It's just always been there."

A thousand questions rolled through Gillian, but after a moment of thought, she picked one. "How long ago did he go down?"

"About three days." Russel replied.

She shook her head. "You lads better show me."


	2. Chapter 2

So here's chapter two. It's quite a bit longer than the introductory chapter, but I really couldn't see any way to split it up without making the consistency of the story a tad awkward. I hope chapter one gave you a bit of a taste of what's to come. Oh, and in case anyone was wondering the story's title comes from a song by The Darkness, a short lived british rock band, off their second album. Give a listen if you haven't already, they're great.

Anyway, on with the show...

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the time has come!!" the diminutive Jimmy Manson declared to the expectant crowd.

This declaration was met with the cries and stomps of the demons and damned souls that surrounded the thrust stage in this modest arena…well, modest by Hell's standards. Manson couldn't help but marvel that a simple legal battle would bring out this much of a crowd. But this was a group of celebrities they were dealing with; whether you're damned or not that tends to entice the masses, and there had been a lot of interest in this case. So Manson, being the wanna-be showman that he is, decided it was best to resolve this matter in the most public forum he could book, so everyone can have a taste of his little victory.

"It's been two long years going through the legal systems to bring this matter to a close, what with the grumblings and red tape provided by our dear friend Mr. Niccals." This was meant by resounding boo's and catcalls. "But" Manson continued with a glance to the demon judges seated behind him "the Russel Hobbs case is finally about to be finished." Cheers once again filled the arena. "And my friends not even Murdoc Niccals can disrupt the proceedings now!" If possible, the cheers rose in volume.

But in spite of the roar, the sound of the large double doors flying open rang out over the din and light spilled out onto the stage, causing Manson to cover his eyes as he was momentarily blinded.

"Now that" a voice boomed from the doorway "is a cue if ever I heard one."

Manson stood for a moment, incredulous rage filling him as he recognized that cocksure Stoke accent and realized the precautions he had put in place had been foiled. The cheers that had filled the arena only a moment ago were replaced by gasps as Murdoc Niccals made his way up the ramp towards the thrust stage. The doors closed again, dousing the bright light, and Manson put his hand down. He could now see that Niccals was obviously limping and as the bassist drew closer Manson saw what kind of shape he was in; burned, bruised and battered, but still with determination in his eyes and a grin on his lips.

"If it pleases the court" Niccals declared to the gathered masses as he climbed onto the stage "I'd like to hold an audience with our distinguished governors and residents of Hell…Oh and little Jimmy here too, I suppose."

Manson managed to keep his surprise and anger at bay. Clearing his throat he simply said "Mr. Niccals, I gotta say we weren't expecting you."

"Oh, I know you weren't you bloody wanker" Murdoc replied coolly and quietly. "Despite what you might think I'm not stupid enough to suppose that all those traps you set in my way just managed to pop up there on their own. I should have known you had a grubby little hand in this." He raised his voice to address the crowd again. "For three days I have traversed the fields and levels of Hell, been through many trials and tasks that were no barrels of fun and giggles, let me tell you. I found out the road to Hell is not _actually_ paved with good intentions. I've done all of this to take up but a few moments of your precious time and take this last chance to plead my case to the court. Now I ask…will you all deny me that?"

The response was a mixed roar from the crowd; some in support of hearing the superstar out, others calling for sentencing to proceed as planned. Either way they were all intrigued that a living, breathing soul would have the gall to make his way through Hell and then stand before them and arrogantly demand an audience.

The head judge stood from his podium and a hush fell over the crowd. "Mr. Niccals has put much of his time and energy into this case. I believe we can humor him one last time and let him speak." With that he sat back down and the silence continued, filling with expectation. Murdoc allowed himself to throw a smug look in Manson's direction before addressing the judges.

"If it pleases the court, I'd like the prisoner brought out." The judges shared a look with each other. "Oh come now" Niccals continued "it is her fate we're deciding; she might as well be a part of it."

The head judge nodded and a side set of doors opened. Two guards brought out their chained prisoner, a diminutive and live human girl. It was Noodle, the Gorillaz guitarist, imprisoned within Hell for the past two years. She glanced around nervously but defiantly at the crowd before her gaze fell upon a very familiar face.

"MURDOC??!!" Noodle shouted in surprise and excitement. She tried to run to him but the chains around her wrists and ankles held her back.

"Easy pet" Murdoc told her. "Keep your wits about you. We're not out of this yet."

She stopped struggling against the chains, but then noticed her band mate's condition. "What happened to you?"

"Got a little roughed up, nothing I can't handle." He held up a hand to indicate that any more questions were unwise. She stopped talking and instead watched to see where this was going. She knew what was at stake, but having Murdoc there gave her an extra shot of courage.

He turned back to the judges. "I humbly present myself before the great tribunal" he declared with as much of a bow as his battered frame would allow. "But with all due respect to our distinguished judges and to the members of this court" he straightened up "I think we ought to cut the bull shit and acknowledge what we all know…that this is a crap charge."

Though the judges kept their faces neutral most who were seated close by caught the slight flicker of outrage that passed through them. Manson chuckled a bit, reveling in watching Niccals dig his own grave. Noodle swallowed nervously.

"Never mind for a moment that Miss Noodle has been imprisoned without due process for two years based on the actions of another party" Murdoc continued as he paced in front of the judges, limping as he went. "It is in the name of Russel Hobbs that these actions were taken; it was his foray into cursed music making that brought us to this. And I think it only fair to point out that the original charge against Mr. Hobbs is unfounded to begin with. Whatever he did he did while he was out of his gourd…I think that's known as 'diminished capacity', which has always provided grounds for leniency. As for the cursed album, as it was never finished the issues with those demons are unfounded. This pursuit of Hobbs' soul is another unfair and prejudiced attempt by this" and he pointed at Manson "wanker to bring more unrest and sheer stupidity into the lives of my band and to add undeserving souls into the ranks of hell. This is what I've been arguing for two years, and I've been yanked around by the legal teams on both sides…and not in a good way."

He folded his arms in front of himself, trying not to wince. "Hell is many things, my lords, but unjust it is not. The governments of the inferno pride themselves on having never damned an innocent soul since the dawn of time. The courts demand that every soul must be given due process…and that is something young Noodle has not had. And you lot are going to damn her for all eternity?" He shook his head and clucked his tongue. "Why sully your good reputations because of red tape and a certified moron's twisted agenda?"

The judges sat quietly for a moment. "Why hasn't Mr. Hobbs come to us, as this case regards him personally?" one judge asked.

Murdoc chuckled. "Russ Hobbs knows next to nothing about the goings on in the netherworld. I, on the other hand, have some first hand knowledge of the legal system of the damned, as you all know. We figured I should be the one to come down here and speak to the tribunal."

The five judges huddled together for a moment to converse in private. Murdoc, Manson and Noodle all watched tensely, all three of them keeping their expressions neutral.

Finally they broke away and the head judge spoke. "Mr. Niccals, while we appreciate the effort you have put into this matter and acknowledge that you have some valid points, the fact remains that the laws of Hell must not be broken. The warrant on Mr. Hobbs still stands. Despite his diminished capacity his actions brought all of this about, and the demons he called forth have every right to claim their prize. And as Mr. Hobbs has not been able to meet all the requirements of that warrant, the demons are again within their right to demand that another soul stand in its place."

"Why this soul?" Murdoc asked, pointing to Noodle. "She's done nothing wrong."

"I suggested her" Manson declared, stepping forward. "Your whole band has dealt with debauchery and magik tampering to one extent or another. Really, aside from you because of your previous contractual agreements, it could have been anyone from the group who could've stepped in place of Mr. Hobbs, but to save the court time, I suggested Miss Noodle, as we thought that she was the easiest to catch."

After a moment's pause Murdoc burst out laughing, and did so for quite a few minutes. "You got another one wrong with that, didn't you?" he asked between guffaws. Noodle smiled for the first time in a while. Manson went red having been called out on his mistake in thinking that Noodle would be easy to apprehend or keep imprisoned. The fights she had put up had become legendary within the netherworlds.

After wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes, Murdoc turned serious. "Would the esteemed tribunal really allow that? Any debauchery that Miss Noodle may have been involved with was minimal at worst and at the behest of her band mates. Wee Jimmy here was trying to deal a blow to me personally by suggesting her."

"You stupid son of a bitch" Manson spat out; "You really think it's all about you?"

After a pause Murdoc replied with a grin "Of course; you didn't know that?"

"Mr. Niccals" the head judge spoke up again. "The fact remains that Mr. Hobbs' debt must be repaid and Miss Noodle is the one to fill that requirement. Her due process has only been held off because of the legal wrangling we've all had to endure over this case. Her actions within Hell have certainly not softened us to her plight. She may very well likely have caused more damage here than any prisoner we've had before." Both Murdoc and Noodle smiled to themselves. "We do not pride ourselves on being unjust, Mr. Niccals, but stalwart we are, and the rules and regulations must be attained to lest chaos breaks out."

Manson clapped his hands together in obvious glee. "That being said, my lords, may I go on with the sen-"

Murdoc suddenly held up a hand to silence Manson mid-sentence. "My lords, is that your final word on the matter? That Miss Noodle must be condemned to Hell?"

The head judge nodded. "It is, Mr. Niccals."

Manson tried to keep going; "As I was saying, we go on as planned with-"

"In that case my lords" Murdoc declared, interrupting Manson yet again. "I hereby invoke the right to Clementia Divinus."

A collective gasp and a moment of stunned silence filled the arena. Soon afterward came the roar of indignation.

Noodle watched Murdoc for a moment, wondering what he was up to and what the uproar was about. He still looked calm, despite how dire the situation appeared to be. She thought back to her training. _Clementia Divinus…that's Latin…Latin for…Divine Mercy? Murdoc is asking for divinity here?"_

The judges looked positively incensed, and Manson was shocked. "Mr. Niccals" the head judge spoke. "What is the meaning of this?"

For his part Murdoc wore a self-assured half grin. How truthful that grin was nobody could tell. "You see, my lords, over the past couple of years I've had a chance to track down and dust off some rare materials I thought might be helpful. Now you all know I've never had much use for calling on the man upstairs, but in desperate times you have to find all the resources you can. And so I'm herby invoking the ancient and admittedly seldom used rite of Clementia Divinus." He turned to Manson and added, under his breath "What do you have to say to that? Wanker."

Manson took a breath and launched into his tirade. "My lords the fact that this man has the…_gall_ to bring this up is an insult to this court and what it stands for. You can't just sit and…"

"Mr. Manson, please" the head judge stopped him. "As unhappy as we all are that this has been brought up, it has, and we are bound to acknowledge the request." He folded his clawed hands in front of himself and addressed Murdoc. "Mr. Niccals, do you understand the gravity of what you are suggesting?"

"I do, my lord" Murdoc replied with confidence. "I understand this is a difficult position, but thanks to this waste of space over here" and he indicated Manson "I have been left with few options."

"Very well"; the head judge stood. "So you therefore understand that in order for us, here in hell, to show mercy to Miss Noodle you will have to provide some incentive for us to do so? In the form of self-sacrifice?"

"I do, my lord."

"Wait" Noodle tried to interject. "What do you mean by self-sacrifi-?"

"The prisoner shall remain silent" one of the judges informed her, "until the deal has been struck."

"But what deal?" She tried to ask again.

"That's enough pet" Murdoc said. "Let me handle this."

"Murdoc I don't want you making any deal, that's not how I-"

"We're past that now" he said to her sternly, but she caught what almost looked like pleading in his eyes. "Stop interrupting."

"Once the right of Clementia Divinus has been invoked, it cannot be withdrawn" the head judge explained, not just for Noodle's sake but for anyone else who may not be familiar with the ancient rite. "And so I ask you, Murdoc Niccals, what can you offer us in exchange for mercy shown to Miss Noodle?"

"You can tear up my contract for one" Murdoc answered. "I'll give up the security of superstardom in exchange for the price on Russel Hobbs's head to be dropped."

Manson scoffed. "This isn't some kind of bargaining table, Niccals. And the mercy is to be shown to Miss Noodle alone."

"Clementia Divinus can cover anything I ask for" Murdoc responded to Manson, deliberately speaking slowly as if he were talking to a child. "And since, as you said, the charge against Hobbs can be fulfilled by any member of our band I'd rather have this mercy extended so your little hoods can't grab anyone else." As an afterthought he looked back at Manson and added "wanker". Then he asked the judges "Will that offer do it, my lords?"

After a brief discussion amongst themselves, the head judge spoke again. "No, your contract is binding. Regardless, it would not be sufficient for what you ask for."

"A blood sacrifice then? Take an offering of my blood in order to fulfill the charge." The more Noodle listened to this the more her stomach tightened in fear.

As the judges discussed this, Manson suddenly had an idea. An idea that made him grin with delight and suddenly feel very grateful that Murdoc had brought up this plan.

"My lords" Manson spoke up. "Perhaps there's one way Mr. Niccals can cover the price on Mr. Hobbs's head." Everyone looked at Manson expectantly, though Murdoc had a sense already of where this was going. "We ask for self-sacrifice for Clementia Divinus, and given what Niccals is asking us to do, I think it is not unreasonable for us to ask him to give us the…ultimate sacrifice."

Silence filled the room. If it were possible Noodle's stomach tightened even more.

"What are you suggesting Mr. Manson?" the head judge asked.

Before he could keep going with his thought, a shadow swooped behind him and seemed to whisper something in his ear before flying back to the crowd. His grin widened. "Actually, my lords, if you give my colleagues a moment I'll show you what I mean."

* * *

So there we have it. Keep an eye out for the next chapter. This is my first story so any feedback would be appreciated (just keep it clean).


	3. Chapter 3

"This is it" Russel explained to Gillian as he and 2D showed her the entrance to hell in the lowest part of the basement of Kong Studios. As they came around the debris towards the fiery hole in the ground, Gillian's eyes widened in amazement. She'd heard rumors about this for years but never thought it actually existed.

"He actually went down there?" she asked.

"He had to" 2D replied. "Or else Noodle might be stuck down there forever."

"Like I said, it's been three days now" Russel added as they moved closer. "We haven't heard from him. I'm not sure how long these things usually take."

As they stood around the opening, Gillian shook her head. "If he's not dead already it'll be a bloody miracle."

"Don't say that" 2D said. "Murdoc'll get her back. He's got to-"

And that was as far as he got. A shadow suddenly reached up from the opening and enveloped Russel and 2D, dragging them back through it too fast for Gillian to even have time to draw her weapon before they disappeared.

* * *

I know, that's very short, but don't worry, there's more coming very soon.


	4. Chapter 4

I hope this makes up for the very short chapter that preceded it. Enjoy.

* * *

Back in the arena everyone had been waiting for a good couple of minutes.

"What exactly are we waiting for Jimmy?" Murdoc asked.

Suddenly, the sound of wind filled the hall. "We're waiting for this" Manson replied while pointing towards the double doors. They burst open and the shadow came barreling onto the entryway and landed on the thrust stage. After a moment the dark mass became more transparent to show that Russel and 2D we're trapped inside.

"Cripes" Murdoc said with a sigh. Noodle cursed in Japanese.

Russel realized where they were when he saw his missing band mates. "Murdoc? Noodle? What the hell's going on? Is that Jimmy Manson?"

2D clued in as well. "Noodle! Hey, I missed you. Muds? You look like shit, mate."

"Oh, for fuck's sake, you two idiots" Murdoc exclaimed as he pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "What did I tell you? 'Stay away from the entrance.' 'Don't go back down there.' Do you remember any of this?"

"That's enough." The head judge restored order. "Explain, Mr. Manson."

Another black shadow swooped in behind Manson and dropped a metallic cylinder into his hand before flitting away. "I've got here concentrated Hell's Aconite, also known as Wolfsbane" he said as he removed the metal cover to reveal a long syringe with a dark purple liquid. "This is one of the deadliest poisons we have available to us. Takes about 40 minutes to die and, I've been told, it's particularly painful. I propose that in order for the esteemed judges of Hell to show mercy to Miss Noodle, Mr. Hobbs and Mr. Pot, that Mr. Niccals be the good guy for once in his miserable life…and take the shot." He held the syringe out to Murdoc, who looked at it grimly.

Everyone stared for a moment. It took the rest of the band that moment to comprehend what was being suggested, and to realize that this wasn't a joke. Manson was completely serious.

"No" Noodle said softly, and then, louder, "No. Murdoc, you can't."

"If you're going to do this, then give me the shot" Russel demanded from his shadow cage. "It was my fault. Let me take the fall."

Manson shook his head, still grinning. "It's not your sacrifice anymore, Hobbs, it's his." He turned and asked the judges "Will that suffice to remove the charge?"

The judges again discussed this amongst themselves. "We have one concern" the head judge said. "Mr. Niccals is under contract. Will this level of sacrifice infringe upon his current agreements?"

"It will not, my lords" Manson declared confidently. "I've examined his contract thoroughly and there is no clause that states that his life can't be sacrificed in a rite as ancient and stead fast as Clementia Divinus."

One last consultation occurred between the judges. "Then it will suffice" the head judge pronounced. "And frankly I can't see any other offer standing in place of the charge."

Manson couldn't have been happier if he tried. "So what's it gonna be Niccals, you or your band? You'll be miserable either way, so it all works for me."

A thousand thoughts rolled through Murdoc's head. One unwelcome notion that popped up was what his father would say about this. And Murdoc realized that, despite how much he has said over the years that he doesn't care what his father thinks, right now it was actually true.

He looked at Noodle. She was well freaked out, shaking her head no at him, even mouthing "Don't you dare" at one point. He looked over at Russel, who was silently pleading with him not to do this. Even 2D, who you could never be sure that he really understood what was happening, looked scared for him. Despite what it would mean for them if he didn't do this, they didn't want him to go through with it. And he had a moment of clarity that he could not compare to any other moment in his entire life. _You've been a self-centered asshole the whole time you've known you; it might be time to make something worthwhile happen here._

Though it felt longer it took all of an instant for all of this to pass though his mind. He looked Manson right in the eye and said in a calm voice "Give me the shot."

"No!" Noodle cried out.

Russel pounded a fist against the shadow wall. "This isn't right! Take me instead!"

"Muds, you can't!" 2D shouted.

Murdoc ignored all this and kept his attention on Manson. "Send those two back up to the surface, let her go, and I'll take the shot."

Manson looked surprised but very pleased. He snapped his fingers and the shadow containing Russel and 2D quickly swept through the arena, back out the double doors and out of sight.

* * *

You may have guessed by now that I'm a sucker for redemption stories. But redemption sometimes comes with a price. Stay tuned, more to come.


	5. Chapter 5

Gillian had stood waiting in the basement of Kong Studios, consulting her runes, hoping for any sign that they might return, when the shadow reemerged, dumped the two band members on the basement floor and then returned down through the mouth of Hell.

"What happened?" Gillian asked.

"We gotta go back down there" Russel declared, scrambling to his feet and pulling 2D up by his shirt.

"You can't go back there; without any kind of assistance from the underworld it'll take you days to travel through Hell" Gillian reminded him. "What happened?"

Russel grunted in frustration. "They're going to give Murdoc some sort of poison, some kind of exchange for dropping the charges. Shit, what are they going to give him?"

2D, still shaken, said in a small voice "I think he said it was … concentrated … Hell's Wolfsbane…something like that."

Gillian felt her stomach drop. She knew what that meant. "Lads if they give him that, then…there's not much we can do."

* * *

I know, it's short again. More coming soon I swear.


	6. Chapter 6

Word of warning...this could get a bit intense.

* * *

With another snap of Manson's fingers the shackles flew off Noodle and attached themselves to Murdoc's wrists and ankles. The chains pulled him off the floor, spreading his arms above his head and his legs beneath him until he was suspended in the air.

Noodle stood for a moment, unsure of what to do. She couldn't fight off this many demons, and trying to do so could only hurt his cause. And she knew those chains would hold, so she couldn't try to pull Murdoc with her to safety. She was stuck.

"Noodle, get out of here!" Murdoc shouted from where he hung.

She shook her head. "I'm not leaving you!"

"There's nothing for you to see here, just go back to the entrance, they won't try to stop you."

"No, I'm staying here with you!" she declared defiantly.

"Oh, let her watch" Manson said as he fingered the syringe. "We'll give the little girl a good show won't we? Let her see what a big, strong man you are, how bravely you're going to take this, as if you were some kind of hero."

Murdoc smiled down at him. "Gloat all you want Jimmy, but just do it."

Jimmy approached Murdoc, savoring his moment of triumph. A metal stool appeared beneath him so he was level with the hanging man's torso. He rolled up Murdoc's shirt to expose his stomach. Murdoc couldn't help but chuckle. "In the gut, Jimmy? You're just milking this for all its worth aren't you?"

Manson leaned in so only Murdoc could hear him. "You know, if you had taken two seconds out of your busy, lecherous life to hear what I had to say, or if you had kept your end of the bargain during that video shoot, we could've avoided all of this."

Murdoc smiled. "I'm not going to scream for you, if that's what you're hoping for."

"You'll scream. They all scream."

Noodle could feel the tears start to roll down her face, but she ignored them and turned to the judges. "You have to stop this, please."

"What's done is done" one judge replied as they continued to watch the proceedings. Noodle tried to go over to her band mate but the guards held her back.

At that, Manson brought his arm back, paused for a split second, and thrust the needle into Murdoc's stomach.

The bassist immediately tensed up, completely unprepared for the amount of pain that now coursed through him, setting his nerves on fire, filling his lungs and stomach with ice. He choked back any noises as sweat began to pour off him. He would _not_ give Manson the satisfaction. The crowd cheered Manson on.

"Mmm, no reaction huh?" Manson asked innocently, knowing that Murdoc was holding back. "Maybe I didn't do it right." And he forced the needle in further. A single grunt escaped Murdoc as the pain went up another thousand notches. Blood began to trickle out of the corners of his mouth from his split tongue and cheeks as his teeth clamped down. The crowd continued to show their support.

"Stop!" Noodle cried out. "Stop it!"

"Almost there. One more ought to do it." Manson pushed the syringe as far as it would go. An agonized scream pierced through the arena and echoed off the walls. Noodle covered her ears, unable to bear the sound.

Manson yanked the now empty needle out of Murdoc's stomach. He stopped screaming and sagged forward, breathing hard and trembling. Demons and the damned alike cheered in victory. Manson gave a contented sigh before grabbing a handful of Murdoc's hair and pulling up so he could look him in the eye.

"Like I told you, everyone screams." He smiled broadly at Murdoc's venomous stare and added softly "I just knew I'd get you in the end." He released Murdoc's hair and then slapped him hard across the face for good measure.

Noodle watched this with horror, the tears coming faster now. "You monster!" she snapped at Manson.

He only grinned and winked at her before hopping down off the stool and turning to his audience. "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the end of the Hobbs case!" Once the next round of cheers died down, he continued. "While Mr. Niccals basks in his heroism, we can all move on from this ordeal and-"

A sudden rumbling moved through the arena. It was gentle at first, and everyone stopped for a moment to wonder at what could have caused that. A second rumble moved through, this time far harder to ignore, as the stadium shook from the floor to the rafters as if an earthquake had just occurred.

Noodle wondered what was going on, but then she noticed the expressions on the more seasoned citizens of Hell. It was terror, nothing short. Manson in particular looked frightened.

"What is going on?" the diminutive creep asked to no one in particular.

A low, baritone laugh filled the silence, and everyone turned to its source. Murdoc was laughing to himself as he stayed suspended in the air with his head slung forward. Noodle's first thought was that her band mate must be delirious, but she saw that the laughter only increased Manson's anxiety. Close to panic he marched over to the bassist.

"What did you do?"

One last chuckle issued forth. "You stupid ponce;" Murdoc, with considerable effort, raised his head so he could look at his nemesis. "You didn't read the fine print, did you?"

Through the pain and illness marking the bass player's features, Manson could see a very familiar look in Murdoc's face. It was the same smug and gleeful expression he wore when he double crossed Manson and sent him to his death in the floating windmill years ago. And Manson realized in that moment of horror that, somehow, Niccals had pulled it off again. He backed away, moving on to the other side of the stage. Then, without any further warning, fire erupted from beneath him, and with a yell of surprise and fear, Manson was engulfed in the flames and simply vanished.

The rumbling started again, more violently than the last time, and the crowd began to panic. They dispersed quickly, trampling each other in an attempt to get to the exits. The guards that had stood around Noodle fled as well, leaving her standing alone on the stage. The judges left their table, the head judge shouting "Manson, what have you done?" before leaving the arena.

After the room had been cleared out, the rumbling stopped for the time being. The chains that held Murdoc disintegrated and he fell heavily to the stage floor. Noodle rushed towards him, crouching down beside him and helping him into a sitting position.

"Murdoc? What happened here?"

Though obviously hurting, Murdoc still had a grin on his face. "Little Jimmy Manson hadn't been so thorough in looking at my contract, love."

"What do you mean?"

"In the fine print it states that in order to carry out said ultimate sacrifice the fatal blow can only be dealt by a designated official of Hell, one of the real higher ups, you see. Anyone else delivers that blow all bets are off and…well let's just say the consequences are dire for anyone who would make that kind of infraction on a notarized contract." He laughed again, though it was a pained laugh. "Jimmy is seriously fucked."

As Noodle thought this over she had a moment of hope. "So…the sentence on you…that's null and void now?"

He shook his head. "Nah, love, I'm still dying" he answered nonchalantly as the sweat continued to drip down his face. "The charges against Russ are still dismissed and they won't come after any of you over this again. But at least this way I can take that little sod down with me somewhat."

Noodle's hope was crushed, and she had to bite her lip to keep composed. "You…you did this for us?"

Murdoc winced and clutched at his stomach. "Hey, come now darling. I knew this might go down this way. It was a bad hand, but it was our only hand."

She whacked him on the shoulder in frustration. "Why did you do this?"

"Okay, firstly, ow" he replied as he rubbed his shoulder. "Secondly…well, I was due, wasn't I?"

They looked at each other hard for a few seconds before another rumble disrupted the moment.

"They're going into lockdown" Murdoc said through gritted teeth as he nearly doubled over. "You need to go."

She shook her head.

"I wasn't asking, I was telling you. If they lock this place up who knows when you can get out again."

She looked him square in the eye. "I'm not leaving without you."

"Oh no, this is not a negotiation. The only way you'll make it out is if you take off on your own."

"Murdoc, I will not leave Hell without you."

He was getting angry now. "Piss off. I didn't do all of this to have you pull this kind of shit. I'm done for anyway, and I'll only slow you down. You'll never make the trip to the entrance if you drag my sorry arse with you."

"I've found a shortcut, just half a mile from this arena; we can both make it if we hurry."

He was about to argue, but stopped and stared at her incredulously. "There's a bloody shortcut? You mean I didn't have to haul myself for three days over-"

"Murdoc" she interrupted, bringing them back to the main point. "We may not be able to save you, but I will not have you die here alone in this horrible place. So I tell you one last time, I am not leaving without you."

He stared daggers at her, but saw that she wasn't going to budge, and the more they argued the slimmer her chance at escape became. With a sigh he tried to get to his feet, but stumbled. Noodle took one of his arms and threw it around her shoulders and proceeded to lead him from the thrust stage towards the double doors. Every step he took he could feel his strength fading, feel the pain increase and his breath becoming shorter, but he kept time with her and leaned on her for support. Noodle just kept moving with him, determined to get them both out as another rumble moved through the ground beneath them.

* * *

Well, there we go. I hope nobody is too wigged out, though there are more trying times ahead. Stay tuned.


	7. Chapter 7

Thank God for shortcuts? We'll see...

* * *

Russel, 2D and Gillian watched the entrance to Hell distort and meld; its lines and edges becoming less tangible.

"Something's happening down there" Gillian declared grimly. "I'm not sure but based on what I've been told this may be Hell's version of a lockdown."

Russel turned to her. "Lockdown?"

"It means that something happened to disrupt the law and order of the underworld, and they're closing it down to fix the problem."

2D looked confused. "There's law and order in Hell?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes"

Russel pushed his ball cap back. "What does that mean for Murdoc and Noodle?"

Gillian folded her arms. "It means that if they don't find a way back soon, they could be stuck down there for a while…if they're not already sentenced…or dead."

The three of them stood for a moment in silence, watching the entrance start to become smaller. Suddenly, 2D exclaimed excitedly "I think I see them!"

Sure enough, they could just barely make out two dark figures making their way towards the mouth from the other side. There was a tense moment as it looked like the entrance borders might fade out before they could make it, but then the mouth to Hell expanded one final time, giving their guitarist and bass player just enough time to emerge from the fiery hole before it suddenly closed up behind them.

"Well I'll be damned, pardon the pun" Gillian said with a smile as she saw the two standing before them. Any other words were stalled when Murdoc's arm slipped away from Noodle's shoulder and he toppled unceremoniously to the ground.

His band moved towards them, their relief now replaced with worry. They called his name, but got no reply. Russel turned him over onto his back, and he and 2D couldn't help but recoil for a moment at what they saw. Murdoc's face was ghostly white now, contrasting with the bruises and gashes, as well as the tinge of blue on his lips. He was dazed and couldn't seem to focus. But the truly alarming feature was that some of the veins on his face had turned to black as the poison moved through him.

"Holy crap" Russel said softly as he and 2D moved closer to their band mate again. Gillian crouched down with them and pushed her way closer to the dying man, looking him over.

"When was he given the injection?" she asked Noodle.

The guitarist was so frazzled she didn't even think to ask who this woman was before answering; "About 20 minutes ago."

Gillian pursed her lips together. "He doesn't have much time left."

"Isn't there anything you can do?" 2D asked. Gillian began to shake her head when she suddenly stopped, her eyes widening as a thought struck her.

"Perhaps…" she said softly to herself, before leaping to her feet. "Get him somewhere safe. I just hope I make it back in time." And she ran up the stairs and out of the basement. The band didn't have time to wonder where she had gone, as Murdoc's groan from the ground brought back their attention.

"Is…is anyone else…cold?" he asked weakly.

The question galvanized Russel. "Don't worry man; we'll get you somewhere warm." He slipped one hand under Murdoc's back, one under his knees, and lifted him up into his arms, quickly carrying him out of the basement. Noodle and 2D gathered themselves up and followed him out together, with 2D keeping an arm around Noodle's shoulders.

* * *

Suspenseful? I like to drag it out a bit. More coming.


	8. Chapter 8

Mostly some discussion between characters in this chapter. Like I said, I like to draw out the suspence.

I know at least one person has been asking about who Gillian is and how she knows what she knows, but don't worry; once things calm down she'll have a chance to explain things somewhat. But until then everyone is destracted with other things. I'm not telling _how_ things will calm down. Read on...

* * *

Up out of the bunker, through the car park and up to the 1st floor Russel moved fast through the broken down hallways of Kong studios towards what had once been his bedroom, which he knew contained the only bed that was still halfway decent in the whole place. Once there he carefully laid Murdoc on top of it.

The bassist groaned again from the movement. "Russ?"

"I'm here Muds. Just relax." Russel unzipped and pulled off his hooded sweatshirt. He draped the sizable garment over Murdoc's arms and chest in an attempt to keep him warm.

Looking down at himself, Murdoc grinned feebly. "I never pegged you…as a nursemaid, Hobbs."

In spite of himself Russel smiled. "Desperate times, man." A shudder ran through his band mate, sucking the humor out of the room. Russel sat down next to him on the bed.

"Oh, shit, that…fucking…hurts" Murdoc gasped as he tensed up, shaking from his head to his boots. When the pain seemed to ease back down again Russel noticed something very unusual in Murdoc's eyes; fear. "This…oh fuck…this is really it, isn't it?"

"No!" Russel grabbed Murdoc by his shoulders. "No, this is not it. You fight this Niccals, you hear me? You fight this with everything you got. I am not going to loose another friend to that hooded bastard!" Realizing how hard he was gripping the sick man, Russel let go and, mentally kicking himself for loosing it, tried a gentler approach. "Hang in there Muds. Our friend Gillian will fix you right up. Just hold out until she gets back."

Murdoc furrowed his brows in confusion. "Who's Gillian?"

"Someone who's been watching over the place while we've been gone; she's been helping us out, seems to know her stuff." Murdoc tensed up again, making a strangling noise that caused Russel's heart to drop. Once it passed, the guilt the drummer was carrying overwhelmed him. "Damn it, Murdoc" he slammed a fist into the mattress "I'm sorry. God, I'm sorry. It should've been me."

"Russ, if I've got to lay here and listen to your self pitying, I'm gonna want to check out sooner." After a steadying breath, Murdoc's tone softened. "We talked about this, I knew what I was signing up for, you wouldn't have lasted two seconds in Hell… and in the end we got Noodle back and resolved the issue. So sod off mate. I'd do it again." Russel still felt like crap, but he had to agree with Murdoc's valid points, and felt somewhat heartened by that last statement. "Besides" Murdoc added "If anyone should be sorry it should be me."

Russel stared down at him. "What are you talking about?"

With considerable effort Murdoc rolled his eyes. "Cripes I get one shot of poison and everyone forgets what a nasty, irresponsible, self-centered git I've been." He looked back at Russel. "I'm sorry mate."

Russel was stunned. Murdoc never apologized, ever. But, the drummer knew that when you're staring death in the face, you tend to do a reevaluation of your priorities. After a pause, he could only shake his head. "Man, I'd say after the last few days, you kind of made up for it."

Murdoc gave as much of a smile as he could as his body went rigid again for a moment. "But" he groaned "I was still the best rock star…to ever grace this green earth, we can all still agree on that right?"

Russel laughed a bit and nodded. By this point Noodle and 2D had caught up with them. Noodle ran over to Murdoc's bedside while 2D lingered in the background, scared and unsure of what to do.

"Murdoc?" Noodle asked. "Are you with us?"

Though his eyes were closed, he nodded. "For the time being;" the last syllable was grunted out as another shudder ran through him, causing his back to arch.

She put a hand on his arm. "Please be strong. That woman will be back soon. She said she can help us." He didn't reply, but only gasped for air, trying to stay with them, despite his belief that it was likely hopeless.

Meanwhile, Gillian ran back over the Essex countryside, back towards Kong studios. A simple shoulder bag tapped against her as she cleared the hills and came upon the landfill. Though she ran fast, she was careful, as the contents of that bag may be this man's only hope.

* * *

Don't change that channel. Another update coming soon.


	9. Chapter 9

Alright, you've all waited long enough. Will he or won't he? Let's find out.

* * *

It had been fifteen minutes since Gillian had left, Russel realized as he looked at his watch. He kept pacing, trying not to panic as the moments ticked by.

By this point Murdoc was curled up on his side under Russel's hoodie, gripping his stomach, obviously in agony and struggling to breathe. He was shaking badly, and everyone feared that he could give out at any moment. Noodle sat behind him on the bed, keeping a hand on his shoulder, trying to keep him here.

2D, who had been lingering around the room, finally found the courage to approach the bed. He set his hands down on the mattress and tried to give support by keeping close. Noodle smiled at him encouragingly.

Without warning Murdoc's hand shot out and gripped 2D's fiercely. The singer was taken by surprise, but stayed where he was.

"D?" Murdoc gasped. "D…I'm…I'm sorry…mate, I'm…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry."

2D was even more surprised now, and so were the other band members. But for the first time since this started, the singer seemed to know what to do. He knelt down beside Murdoc and placed his other hand over the bassist's.

"I know Muds, I know you are" he told him as he gripped his hand back. 2D's voice began to break, but he kept talking. "I know Muds, its okay. I swear its okay. Just hold on, please, hold on, for us."

Murdoc's eyes slipped closed but his grip on his band mate still held. Gillian suddenly burst into the room, breathless and covered in sweat. She pulled off her shoulder bag and rummaged through it. To the others, her appearance was like seeing an angel.

"You were cutting it pretty close" Russel pointed out with a smile.

"Don't smile" she told him as she pulled out a capped syringe and a bottle of a deep blue liquid. "I'm not exaggerating when I say this will be a million to one shot if it works." She glanced over at the three on and around the bed. "How is he?"

2D and Noodle turned back to Murdoc, and 2D noticed that the bassist's grip on his hand had gone slack. "Muds?" he asked tentatively, but got no reply. Noodle shook his shoulder; still nothing. "I think he's passed out" 2D said fearfully.

Noodle drew in an unsteady breath. "Oh, Murdoc, don't, please…"

"Where was he injected?" Gillian asked as she mixed some powder into the blue liquid. When Noodle didn't respond right away, Gillian pressed; "Noodle, where was he injected?!"

The guitarist snapped back into focus. "In his stomach."

"Get off the bed love, we need the space" Gillian inserted the needle into the bottle and carefully began to fill it. "Get over there" she said to Russel as she worked "You and blue boy roll him onto his back and pull up his shirt." Russel rushed over as Noodle hopped off and he and 2D did what was asked. Once they had him rolled over 2D pulled off the sweat shirt as Russel pulled up Murdoc's shirt, trying not to think about how cold his skin felt. It was obvious where the injection site was; it had turned black. Black veins and tracks snaked from the site all over Murdoc's stomach.

"Holy shit" Russel stammered upon seeing the gruesome wound.

"Look later, we're loosing him!" Gillian snapped as she pulled the needle from the bottle and gave it a few taps with her fingers.

Noodle looked closely at Murdoc's white, black streaked face and still chest. "He's not breathing!" she cried out.

"Get back!" Gillian rushed forward as the band stepped back. Placing one hand on Murdoc's stomach she jabbed the needle into the injection site with her other hand. Murdoc's body twitched upon the impact.

"Did they get it in deep?" she asked Noodle, who nodded shakily. "Damn it" Gillian muttered as she pressed the syringe in as far as she could. Murdoc twitched again, but made no other movements. Gillian quickly emptied the syringe and then pulled it out. She capped and discarded it on the bed, and watched her patient for any signs of life. She saw none.

"Come on" she urged quietly as she took his cold hand and started to rub it. "Come on, you're still in there. Come on now." Nothing happened. The rest of the band watched, holding their breaths, praying silently for any movement, any sign.

Gillian leaned over Murdoc's mouth and listened; she heard nothing. She pressed her fingers into his wrist to feel for a pulse, and then into the side of his neck; she felt nothing. Pulling the pillow out from under his head she tilted it back and began mouth to mouth, and then chest compressions in succession.

After a minute she called over her shoulder "There's a syringe in my bag! Someone grab it quickly and bring it here!"

Noodle rushed over and quickly rummaged through it, finding a capped syringe and brought it over to her. Gillian took it, pulled the cap off with her teeth as she used her free hand to pull up Murdoc's shirt and expose his chest, then thrust the syringe into his heart, emptying it quickly then pulling it out, recapping it and tossing it with the first one.

"What was that?" Russel asked.

"Adrenaline" she answered as she kept pressing her hands into the bassist's chest. "Come on" she said to her patient's still form. "From what they've told me you've never walked away from a fight in your entire life." She stopped long enough to force air into his lungs twice and then continued pressing. "Why on earth would you start now?" she asked as she kept it up.

The band felt helpless; hopeless. Noodle began to cry and pressed her head into Russel's chest. Russel put an arm around her and grabbed onto 2D with the other.

Then, after a few more seconds of resuscitation, a miracle; Murdoc's eyes shot open and he gasped loudly for air. The sound startled everyone in the room, and it took a few seconds for the band to realize what had happened. By that point Gillian had pulled him into a sitting position. She held onto him as the adrenaline and her makeshift antidote brought him back to life and she did her best to keep him calm and encouraged him to keep breathing. The frantic gasps and trembling continued for about half a minute while the band watched dumbstruck. Then the breathing slowed and Murdoc's frail body went slack.

"Help me lay him back down" Gillian called to the band. Oddly enough 2D was the first to spring into action. He came around the other side and helped Gillian ease the unconscious Murdoc back onto the bed.

"He's…he's breathing, isn't he?" 2D asked with a hint of a smile.

"Yes, he's breathing." Gillian replied with a sigh, using her arm to wipe some sweat off her brow.

Russel and Noodle made their way over and saw that, yes, Murdoc was breathing. Noodle hugged Russel in relief. He hugged her back, though he was still stunned by what just happened.

"You saved him. Thank you" Noodle said to Gillian after she broke away. "You saved him…and I don't even know your name."

The healer grinned. "It's Gillian, love. Good to meet you. And don't thank me yet. We're not done." She shook her cramped arms out a bit. "We need to try to stabilize him." She lifted Murdoc's head to move the pillow back under it and pointed to the sweat shirt, which 2D still had in his arms. "Lets put this back over him, and then we need to talk."

2D, with Gillian's help, carefully pulled it back over Murdoc. Gillian then directed everyone to a corner of the room, somewhere where they could talk and still keep an eye on their band member. After a final check of the bassist's vitals to make sure things seemed alright for the moment, the healer joined the others.

"Now," she began "I know you're all still frazzled, but we need to discuss this quickly. There are some things that are going to happen that you need to be prepared for." She nervously ran a hand over her mouth before she continued.

"It was a long shot, using that worm wood draught with powdered willow bark, but I've seen a couple of these poisoning's before and it can work to counteract it. But he's still very fragile right now; the adrenaline I used to help start his heart has made it very vulnerable, and it could give out again, along with a million other things that could go wrong. But unfortunately, that's not the worst of it."

The band members looked at each other, wondering how this could be worse.

"Recovering from this kind of poison is…frankly, it's a hellish ordeal…again, pardon the pun. As the wormwood counteracts the aconite and flushes it out of his system it…well, it will be an extremely painful process."

Russel frowned. "How painful?"

Gillian crossed her arms as she thought of a way to describe it to them. "Have you ever seen a heroin addict come off the junk?" she asked.

Russel nodded grimly, not liking where this was going. "Yeah, I saw a couple addicts in Brooklyn; coming down really messes a person up."

"I think I've only seen it in movies" Noodle said.

"Yeah me too" 2D agreed.

"Alright then" Gillian went on. "Picture that…and then multiply it by about 2 or 3 times and you start to get an idea of what he may end up enduring."

All three sets of eyes widened at the thought. Noodle cursed softly in her native tongue.

Gillian went on. "Now again, I've only ever seen one or two people survive this type of poisoning, but those were ordeals. I'm talking screaming, heads banging against walls, hair being pulled out, vomiting, sweating and hallucinating. It's different for different people, but it's always excruciating, always." She sighed. "And the thing is I can't give him anything for it. Not for at least 48 hours until I'm absolutely sure everything is out of his system. If I mix hell's wolfsbane and worm wood _and_ adrenaline with any other kind of drug it will kill him.

Her eyes hardened a bit. "And…I can tell you all right now that you'll all suffer as well as you watch him go through this. You're going to feel helpless, you're going to feel guilty and you're going to feel like crap in general. But if he's going to pull through I need every one of you" and she looked at Russel in particular, and though she didn't say it he knew she was silently concerned about his occasional mental instability "on board and committed to helping him, no matter what."

The band members felt ill at the thought, but after a quick look at each other all three knew they were in, whatever it took. "What can we do?" Noodle asked, trying to be brave.

Gillian seemed satisfied. "Well, for starters, we can't stay here."

"Why not?" 2D asked, and Gillian, who was still not used to the singer's lack of comprehension, stared at him unbelieving before answering.

"This place is falling apart. It's dangerous, it's filthy, it's exposed and this evil, negative energy is bouncing off the walls. If he's going to have any chance of surviving and recovering he'll need to be somewhere safe, sanitary and well stocked with medical equipment and healing energy. We need to clean and dress his wounds and get him settled before the symptoms start to show."

Noodle frowned. "When will that be?"

The healer glanced at her patient. "I'd say maybe an hour or two. It's hard to predict."

"Well, what about a hospital then?" 2D suggested.

Gillian shook her head. "No, they won't have any idea how to handle this. And they'll ask questions that we don't want to answer, lest we all want to end up in the psychiatric ward."

"Well, where can we take him?" Russel asked with a tinge of frustration.

After a moment of thought, Gillian knew the answer. "To my place. It's not far from here, and it has everything we need."

There was a moment of uncertainty, but then Noodle spoke up. "I think we should do it. Gillian's right, we can't stay here."

Russel sighed, but relented. "Alright, _how_ are we going to do this?"

* * *

Tense enough for you? Touching at all? I hope so. Things are stable for now, but like I've said there are more trials a' coming; that whole "darkest before the dawn" thing. My hands are tied people! Stay tuned.


	10. Chapter 10

Before we go on, I'd just like to say thanks for all of your comments. I really look forward to hearing what people have to say and I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Like I've said, any and all comments are much appreciated.

Anyhoo, we've got some discussion, some patching up and a speck of light that talks in this chapter. Let's find out what happens...

* * *

Gillian walked ahead over the desolate landscape, keeping her eyes peeled for any demonic backlash over what had just transpired. Since hell was in lockdown, she really didn't expect anything to happen. Still, she could feel the bull's eye on all of their backs, and she knew never to underestimate the sense of retaliation the inhabitants of hell could possess. So she led her motley crew over the barren Essex hill sides beyond Kong Studios, keeping a hand on her sword and hoping that the grey clouds overhead wouldn't suddenly pour rain on them on top of everything else.

Just behind her were 2D and Noodle. The diminutive guitarist was riding piggy back off the lead singer as they went. He didn't mind; though a couple of years had gone by she wasn't much heavier then before. She was just grateful to get off her feet for a while. Besides, they had missed each other.

"Who is she?" Noodle whispered to her ride.

"Her name's Gillian" 2D replied just as quietly, forgetting that the guitarist already knew the stranger's name. "Not sure what her last name is. She says she's been keeping an eye on Kong since we've been gone. There's a lot of bad stuff that's been going round the twist when we haven't been living there. She says she's been fighting it off."

"But why is she doing this?"

"Don't know. Something about her people doing this kind of thing. They're Celts or something. She wasn't there when Murdoc went down the mouth, but she showed up while Russ and I were waiting; scared the life out of me with her big sword."

Noodle went quiet again. As appreciative as she was to this woman for her help, she was still curious as to who she is and what she does. But she knew that 2D probably couldn't give her much more information than that. He hadn't changed much since she'd been gone. She smiled and held onto him tighter, just happy to be home with her boys.

She glanced behind her at the last two members of their party. Russel moved a bit slower than the others but with good reason. In his arms, cradled close to his chest, he carried the still unconscious, battered form of their bassist. Murdoc was wrapped tightly in a blanket they had managed to find in the ruins of the studio, and it was hoped this would protect him from the chill in the air. Gillian had made it clear that in his very fragile condition they needed to be as careful with him as possible if he was going to survive the trip.

"Mr. Hobbs, how's our patient?" Gillian called over her shoulder.

Russel looked down at the pale, bruised, black streaked face and sighed. "He's still here" he called back; "Barely."

Noodle looked behind her again. "Do you need to stop, Russel?"

"Nah, I'm good" the drummer replied as he shifted Murdoc up a bit to a more comfortable position. "He's not that heavy. Let's just get him where he needs to go."

"A wise decision. It's just past this hill." Gillian jogged ahead for a bit; "Right there." The others moved to keep up, and they saw a small cottage nestled in a patch of trees.

"I didn't know that was there" 2D said.

"You weren't meant to, blue." Gillian started to trot down the gravel walkway. "Come now, we're running out of time."

Before anyone could take another step something moved quickly over their heads. The shining object came back around, zoomed down, fluttered up again, moving so fast no one could get a bead on it. Gillian drew here sword and Noodle hopped down from 2D's back as they tried to decide what to do about this speck of light that buzzed around annoyingly like a bee.

"What the hell is that?" Russel asked.

To the shock of the band members a light girlish voice answered. "What the hell am I? What the hell are you?"

2D scratched his head. "Did that speck of light just talk to us?"

"Steren!" Gillian exclaimed with obvious relief as she sheathed her sword. The speck fluttered over to Gillian and spoke again, but this time in another language, with Gillian responding in kind.

"What are they saying?" 2D asked.

"I don't know" Noodle said. "I think it's a European dialect, but I've never heard it before."

"Mos, marpleg" Gillian said after a moment, rather firmly, and the speck began to flutter away. "Meur ras!" she called after it reluctantly as it quickly flew back towards what was left of the studio.

"I ask again, what the hell was that?" Russel said as he shifted Murdoc up again.

Gillian shook her head in exasperation and began walking towards the cabin again. "A friend of mine. I'll explain later."

"What language was that?" Noodle asked.

"Cornish."

"Do you often make friends with specks of light?" 2D asked, without the slightest trace of irony.

"I have lots of different friends. But we're short on time, let's get him inside."

The band followed. Gillian went through the door first, with Russel following her, then the last two went inside after them.

The inside of the cottage matched the outside; earthy tones, a homey atmosphere, neat and clean, but surprisingly spacious. The lightest scent of incense hung in the air.

"This way." Gillian led them into what appeared to be a medical room, not unlike what you'd find in a clinic, lined with cabinets and a sink. An examination bed took up the middle, with white, sterile sheets covering it. She directed Russel to the bed, and she assisted him in very carefully laying Murdoc out on top of it

"You know, he'd hate it if he knew I had to carry him like that" the drummer said after safely getting him on the table.

Gillian smiled. "I won't tell if you won't. Let's have a look, shall we?" She unwrapped the blanket surrounding him and did a quick examination of his vitals. "Heart's steady, though I would like it to be a bit stronger. Breathing's fine…pulse is hanging in there…no further injuries that I can see." She patted Russel quickly on the arm. "Good work, mate. You got him here in one piece."

Russel breathed a sigh of relief. 2D and Noodle, who were lingering in the doorway, trying to stay out of the way, looked pleased as well.

"Now, I need to work quickly while we still have a chance. Mr. Hobbs, there are swabs and rubbing alcohol in that cupboard by the window, grab those for me please. Miss Noodle, there are wrapping bandages, surgical thread and needles in the cupboard above the sink. Mr. Pot, you'll assist me with getting him prepped." Under her guidance they managed to get Murdoc undressed with a sheet across his middle (to preserve some sense of modesty, such as it was). Gillian systematically went over him; wearing latex gloves she cleaned the bassist's wounds, stitched any gashes that needed it, bandaged anything that needed it and salved any severe bruises or burns. The others provided equipment for her whenever it was required.

As she worked, Noodle decided to try to learn more about her. "Were you a doctor once, or a nurse?"

"I'm just a healer love." Gillian replied as she stitched a deep gash in Murdoc's forearm. "My people have been practicing healing arts since the pagans ruled this land. And ever since the 19th century we've intertwined our arts with that of modern medicine, updating new techniques as they've developed. I've never been to medical school but I've been apprenticing since I was a child. Besides, a lot of what I heal has yet to be acknowledged by modern medicine." She finished her work, and cut the thread. "Alright, hopefully that won't scar too much, but regardless that tattooed octopus will have a line through it now." She grabbed a swab and the alcohol bottle from 2D and finished cleaning the wound before moving on.

Russel had other concerns. "You mentioned that recovering from this kind of poison, the patient can suffer hallucinations. How bad can they get?"

"Bad" she replied as she cleaned out the scrapes on Murdoc's knees. "He may end up seeing every nightmare he's ever experienced, everything that's ever terrified or humiliated him. That's the bugger of these poisons…ultimate suffering, body, mind and soul." She sighed. "He's also going to try to fight it off, or fight us, or fight the pain; that's why I wanted to clean him up now, while he'll stay still for us. But despite his best efforts to fight, he'll fail. He'll have no defense for it this time; no sarcastic remarks, no drowning his sorrows in alcohol and black magick, no physical prowess as he'll be weak as a kitten, and no rationality to think through what he's seeing. He'll probably be more emotionally raw than you've ever seen him before."

She began to bandage his knees. "All we can do is hold him down, try to calm him and try to minimize any factors that could make it worse." She stopped working for a second, as a thought struck her. "Oh God, I forgot, he's a smoker isn't he?"

The others were surprised at the question. "Well, yeah, he is." Russel replied.

"Heavy?" she asked. Russel nodded. "Damn it, we'll have nicotine withdrawal to deal with as well. I'm not putting any of that rubbish into his system either."

Upon hearing this 2D looked a bit shocked. "Wait…does that mean…" and he took another moment to think about it before it finally dawned on him. "You don't have any fags here?"

"Not a one" Gillian confirmed. 2D now looked horrified. "You'll have to make due, lad" she continued. "No one's leaving this cottage for the next two days; I need all hands on deck."

"It'll be good for you" Noodle told him reassuringly. "It's a bad habit anyway."

Gillian agreed; "Filthy." She tightly bandaged Murdoc's sprained ankle, and then looked him over one final time. "I think that should do it. Hopefully now we won't have to worry about infection." She pulled the sheet over his legs. "We should move him to one of the bed rooms; he'll be more comfortable there."

A few minutes later, after much direction, they had him dressed in a spare set of scrubs Gillian kept in the house, and in an actual bed in one of several bedrooms she kept for patients. After another check of his vitals, taking his blood pressure and supplying him with a saline drip given intravenously to rehydrate him and a pack of ice for his swollen ankle, Gillian assured them that all they could do now is wait, and in the mean time let him rest. He was going to need it.

Gillian turned to Noodle. "Alright love, it's your turn."

Noodle looked confused and a tad startled. "What do you mean?"

"We should get you cleaned up while we've got a moment. A nice hot bath and some fresh clothes would do you good."

The guitarist shook her head. "Oh, no, I'm fine. Really, we should worry about him-"

Gillian stopped her there. "There's nothing I can do for him right now. You and I will just be in the next room, and before you get all selfless on me you need to remember that the only way you'll be able to look after him is if you look after yourself."

Noodle realized the healer had a point. Still, she looked at Russel and 2D for any comments.

"Go little sistah. We'll stay with him." Russel said.

2D nodded. "Yeah. Besides, you do look kind of sooty." After sticking her tongue out at him, Noodle relented, and followed Gillian to the bathroom.

* * *

Those few words Gillian says in Cornish I got from a Cornish-English online dictionary. It's supposed to be "Go, now" and "Thank you", but if anyone knows otherwise and would like to set me straight, please feel free.

More coming soon.


	11. Chapter 11

Hello all. Again, mostly chit chat in this chapter, although here we learn even more about the enigmatic Gillian. Enjoy.

* * *

Despite her earlier protestations, Noodle couldn't help but think that the bath Gillian had drawn was certainly enticing. The large, white porcelain tub was filled with clean, hot water and soap that gave off a pleasant floral scent. The washroom itself was a pale pink color, relaxing and inviting. _She certainly knows how to nurture_ Noodle thought as she slipped off the borrowed bathrobe and immersed herself. Though her captors had treated her fairly well while her case was in limbo (at least compared to the more unfortunate, damned souls), this was a luxury she could not hope to receive in hell. She took a few moments to enjoy it (trying not to think about what could have awaited her had her damnation gone through), then went about scrubbing the grime and soot that had accumulated on her skin.

A light knock came at the door, followed by a feminine voice. "How are we doing in there, love?"

"Fine, thank you" she replied as she used the brush to scrub her back. "How's Murdoc?"

"Exactly the same as you left him, and let's hope it stays that way for a while longer." The door opened just a bit. "If I cover my eyes, is it alright if I bring these towels in?"

The guitarist grinned in spite of herself. "Of course, but you don't have to be so shy. We're both women."

The door came open a bit more and Gillian came in with one hand over her eyes. "I know; I'm just trying to be polite." Noodle could see that the young woman had changed into a Union Jack tank top and unzipped hooded shirt. Her hair was down as well, though the top half had been tied up off her face. To her credit Gillian managed to close the door behind her and carry the towels over to the railing by the tub and then head back to the door without taking her hand from her eyes or stumbling. Once her back was turned she removed the hand and went back through the door. "Let me know if you need anything else."

Before the door had closed all the way Noodle stopped her. "Wait, if you're not busy for a moment I had a few more questions."

The door pushed open again a crack. "Certainly love, what do you need to know?"

The teenager hopped that finally some of her curiosity could be put to rest. "Mostly, I want to know about you."

There was a pause from the other side of the door. "Shoot."

Noodle began to wash her hair and wondered where to start with her questions. "How did you get all of this medical equipment?"

"We have friends in the medical community. There are some very understanding doctors and board members who allow us to skimp what we need to take care of ourselves and anyone else who needs it."

After a moment of consideration, Noodle chose a shampoo from the row near the tub. "Who's 'we'?"

"My people; namely decedents of ancient Celtic tribes that still practice the old ways and fight against some of the supernatural elements that remain as threats; a lot of things regular people will never know about."

"Is that why you live here, near Kong?"

"Well, it's certainly not for the scenery. I don't need to tell you what's in that place."

Noodle pondered this grimly as she rinsed. "Do you live here alone?"

"Hmm hmm. Other members of the tribe come and go from time to time, but there are so few of us left we're pretty thinly scattered, and they have other issues to concern themselves with. Often if someone needs patching up they'll come see me, but mostly it's a task I need to do alone."

The guitarist sighed. "That must be hard. Have you lived here the whole time we've been at Kong?"

"Indeed, though if you didn't notice then I did my job right. Don't worry, I stayed outside of the building, except for one instance where I had to break in, and believe me that was a necessity."

"Wait" Noodle's eyes widened. "That time where a window was broken near the car lot?"

A light laugh came from the other side of the door. "Yes, that was me. Sorry about that." Another pause followed. "You know, I admit you certainly helped to keep everything at bay love, but other band members, and by that I mean the one currently wearing my spare scrubs, aggravated the situation somewhat."

The guitarist took one last rinse over herself. "Yes, I know" she said as she pulled the plug out of the tub and stepped out, grabbing a towel.

"Anything else you'd like to know?" Gillian asked.

"Just one last thing" she put the robe back on and put the towel over her head. "Oh, you can come in now."

Gillian came all the way into the bathroom, and waited patiently for Noodle's last question. "Well, mostly I'm wondering why you're doing all of this for us."

The healer sighed and began to run the towel through the girl's hair. "Because you need it" she answered simply.

Noodle let her dry her hair. "But…Murdoc certainly hasn't helped your cause, and you don't know us, you've got no stake in this-"

"You need it" Gillian said again. "Why are we still talking about this?" She pulled the towel away and took a good look at the rescued musician. "Well I think you need a comb," she declared with a smile. "But otherwise" she grabbed a comb from the sink counter "you look much better."

"Thank you" Noodle said as she took the brush, and tried to indicate in her tone that the thanks were for far more than just the comb. "Oh, and one last question" she said as she ran it through her hair. "What's your last name?"

Gillian chuckled as she hung the towel up to dry. "It's Wolfe with an 'e'; once again, good to meet you. Now, are you hungry? I'm sure everyone could use a bite before-"

She was cut off by a loud crash from the patient's room and Russel shouting a panicked "Gillian!"

"Damn it" she cursed as she and Noodle rushed down the hall.

* * *

So there you go. I hope that's satiated some curiosity.

I'll be going out of the country for the next week, so it may be a while before I get the next chapter up, but stay tuned; I won't leave you hanging too long.


	12. Chapter 12

I'm back! I had a great week off. I was down in Orlando, and saw Disney World, which I haven't done since I was a kid. If you're ever down there check out Aerosmith's Rock 'n' Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios. That was awesome!

The time off gave me a chance to work on this next chapter. I wasn't happy with it for a while, but now I feel much better about it. We're picking up right where we left off. Take a look and see what you think.

* * *

In Murdoc's room chaos had broken out. The two girls had come in just in time to see Russel and 2D on either side of the bed trying their best to restrain their band mate.

"Come on man, settle down, it's just us" Russel tried to console him, to no avail.

"Hold onto him but carefully" Gillian ordered, taking control. "Try to keep him from pulling out the IV." She approached the bed on the same side as 2D and took a look at what had caused the commotion. Murdoc's eyes were screwed shut, his teen grit tight and his breath shallow as he struggled against both the pain and the two men holding on to his arms.

"Easy mate, take it easy" she said as she pushed him back onto the bed by his chest and then turned her attention back to the band. "I don't think he's registering where he is or who we are, but we've got to make sure he doesn't pop his stitches."

Despite their efforts to keep him down and steady, there was one casualty; a stray fist connected with 2D's nose, sending the singer falling backwards on to the floor. Noodle attended to him while Gillian took his place and grabbed their band mate's flailing arm. After another tense moment or two Murdoc stopped struggling and lay still, exhausted though obviously still in pain.

"Let him go. Step back for a second." Russel did as she requested, though he looked worried. She examined her patient, checking his pulse and vitals. "Alright, he's okay for a moment," she declared as she took a cloth and mopped the beads of seat from the bassist's brow. "But these are just the first steps of a very long walk."

"Um Gillian?" Noodle asked from the floor. "I think 2D's bleeding."

She turned around to find the guitarist crouched down beside their singer, who had his hand on his nose. A bit of red could be seen on his face.

Gillian grabbed a fresh cloth and came over. "Let me see" she requested. He took his hand away and she did a quick examination. "Nothing broken, you'll be alright. Way to take one for the team mate." She placed the cloth around his nose and moved his hand over it. "Tilt your head back and keep pressure on it. It should stop bleeding soon." Once finished, Gillian stood back up and looked around the room. "What caused the crash?"

"Oh, it's over here" Russel picked up a metal tray from the floor. "He slammed his fist into it when he woke up and sent all of the equipment flying."

Gillian looked at the tray dourly as Russel set it back on the counter. She came around and helped put everything back on it. "Well, I'm afraid that's very typical behavior in these situations. There is a chance that we may end up having to restrain him if we can't hold him down."

Noodle stood and frowned as she thought this over. "You think it may have to come to that?"

"Hopefully not, but we'll have to see how this progresses. We need to keep him from hurting himself."

Murdoc groaned loudly in his sleep. Noodle came closer and carefully took his hand. He yanked it away as he curled into his side and tried to bring his knees up against his stomach.

"Don't take it personally, he's not exactly in his right mind" Gillian reassured. Noodle nodded.

2D also looked troubled. He stood up with the cloth still on his nose, making him sound a little nasal as he spoke. "I think I may have asked this already, but are you sure there's nothing you can do?"

Gillian shook her head. "48 hours; after that I can give him something for the pain. Before that we're practically asking for cardiac arrest." She checked her watch. "We're about three hours in, so we'll all have to be patient." She looked at the three worried faces. "_Is_ he a fighter, or is that all tabloid talk?"

They glanced at each other and smiled. "He's a fighter" Russel confirmed.

"Then that's the best shot we've got." She smiled and checked over 2D again. "See, it's already stopped, so go clean yourself up. The rest of you sit tight for the time being. I'm just going to the next room to make us all something to eat." She left the room wondering how much she was going to have to play cheerleader of the next two days.

***********************************************************************************************************************************************

For a few hours things were as quiet as they could be. Gillian prepared food in her kitchen for everyone, and the band slept in shifts. Noodle noticed the healer's guitar and lute while examining the cottage; a lengthy discussion on music ensued soon after. Occasionally Murdoc would need to be held down or reassured, but mostly he would sleep as much as he could through the pain.

Once morning had broken and while the band was having a quick breakfast in the kitchen, Gillian decided to check the bassist's injuries to make sure nothing had started bleeding again and to change his bandages. She approached the patient, who for all appearances was still asleep, with a tray of equipment. After another examination of his vitals she picked up a pair of medical scissors to cut through the gauze.

Without warning Murdoc was suddenly awake and moving. He managed to snatch the scissors from Gillian and pull himself against the head of the bed, crouching down and coming dangerously close to pulling out the IV. When she tried to approach him he thrust the scissors out in her direction, and the fearful, crazed look in his eyes left no doubt that he would use them.

"Get the fuck away from me, don't come any closer" he said gruffly, his voice shaking.

She put her hands up. "Alright take it easy mate, no one's going to hurt you." She took a step towards him.

"Get back!" he said again. "I don't have it. I don't have what you want, I didn't have the time. Stay the hell away from me."

"I need help in here now!" Gillian yelled out the door. "Easy mate, I'm not looking for anything." She could see that he was inching towards the end of the bed away from her, with the chance of him falling off and possibly aggravating his injuries.

Running footsteps could be heard down the hall. Russel was the first to get to the door. "Shit!" he exclaimed as 2D and Noodle appeared behind him, and they tried to approach the bed themselves.

"Get away from me!" Murdoc brandished the scissors again. "You think I won't use this? You're not getting it from me, I won't let you!"

"What?" 2D asked.

Noodle looked around Russel to Gillian. "Does he know who we are?"

"I don't think so. I think the hallucinations have started."

"Ah fuck" Murdoc groaned painfully and clutched his stomach with his free hand. "Shit that hurts. What did you do to me? What did you give me?"

"No one gave you anything Muds, we're trying to help" Russel said pleadingly with his arms held up.

Noodle held her hands up as well as she tried again to approach him. "Please Murdoc, it's us, we wouldn't hurt you."

"Get the fuck back!" He thrust the scissors at his band again with a trembling hand, and the tug against the IV made Gillian wince. "I'll cut your faces open, I swear! You're not going to take it from me! That wasn't part of the deal! Shit, what did you do to me?!"

In that moment of distraction, when he was focused solely on his band, Gillian made her move. In one smooth motion she closed the gap, grabbed a hold of his outstretched wrist and quickly disarmed him, tossing the scissors to the floor. He tried to fight her off but didn't have the strength to do much damage. Russel came over and grabbed him from the other side, making sure he wouldn't fall off and the two of them managed to get him lying back down again.

"Let go of me…get your hands off…I…I won't…" his protestations began to die down as his remaining strength faded.

"Put your hand on the side of his head" Gillian told Russel.

"What?"

"Put your hand on the side of his head. It'll help calm him down."

Russel did as he was told, and almost instantly Murdoc began to settle down somewhat.

"That's it mate, just relax now, no one's going to hurt you" Gillian soothed as she brushed the sweat drenched hair off his face. Though still trembling Murdoc's eyes eventually slipped closed and he drifted back off into a fitful sleep.

"Holy Shit" 2D exhaled. Gillian let go and Russel did the same, taking a step back and obviously stunned.

"Are you alright?" Noodle asked Gillian, who nodded.

"I shouldn't have been alone with him with a sharp instrument" the healer lamented. "That was my fault." In spite of it all she smiled. "You weren't kidding though, he is a fighter."

Russel was obviously shaking. "Is this going to happen again?" he asked as he put a hand behind his neck.

"Possibly" she answered, and gave him the same stern look she had at Kong. "Are you going to be able to handle this? You're the only one of us big enough to hold him down on your own, I need you here."

The drummer looked uncertain for a moment, but then reset his resolve. "Yeah, I can handle it."

Gillian nodded, but the patient began to shiver violently and everyone's attention refocused elsewhere.

* * *

So things are rough, as you can see. More coming soon. What do we think so far?


	13. Chapter 13

Sorry for the delay. It took a while to get this one just right. The first part adds a couple of new elements to the story, but the last part is meant to tug at the heart, maybe bring a tear to the eye, so be warned.

* * *

The rest of the day was rough for all concerned. Though no one was threatened with anything sharp again Murdoc's condition worsened considerably. He couldn't rest anymore because of the pain coursing through him, which had steadily increased. He was feverish now, which was aggravating his tenuous grasp on reality and he was clearly delirious if not outright hallucinating through most of the day. Gillian and his band basically spent their time holding him down, reassuring him or trying to cool him off. He struggled against them, unable to recognize who they were, but they managed to keep him from hurting himself or anyone else.

Eventually evening came, and everyone was exhausted. Gillian had forced the band to take breaks through the day and eat and rest and everything else they needed to do. Nearly 24 hours had gone by, and she was thinking over their options, knowing this could get worse as they hit the home stretch. She didn't want to use the restraints on her patient if she didn't have to, but she also knew that using everyone in the household to do it would wear them out.

She was pondering this around sunset in her quiet kitchen as she made some tea, with Noodle sitting close by taking a break, when another thought suddenly entered the healer's mind. "Why hasn't he cried out?" she asked aloud.

Noodle looked around, confused. She was fairly certain that had come out of nowhere. "What did you say?"

Gillian stopped what she was doing and placed her hands on the counter. "It just dawned on me…he hasn't screamed at all today."

"Murdoc?"

"Yes. He's clearly in agony, but…nothing. He hasn't even cried out, just a few groans or grunts, or a few harsh words, but that's it."

"He's never been much of a screamer" Noodle pointed out; "except maybe on stage when he's trying to be a showman."

"I'd believe it, but the people I've seen recovering from these poisonings were warriors practically carved out of wood and they screamed themselves horse by this point." She thought for a moment. "Do you think he's holding back?"

The guitarist thought as well. "It could be. Back in hell, when he was given the injection he tried to keep from screaming then, but I think that was because he didn't want to give Manson the satisfaction." Her eyes grew dark as she remembered. "Despite his efforts he did scream anyway." Had that really happened only yesterday?

"Wait…do you mean Jimmy Manson, the exec who died in the windmill at the _El Manana_ video shoot?" Noodle nodded. "Well, I'm not surprised the little psycho ended up in hell. I caught him poking around the studio once while you lot were on tour. He was involved in this?"

"Yes he was. He helped orchestrate my kidnapping. It brought him up in the ranks of the underworld. But when he delivered the shot he unknowingly infringed on Murdoc's contract, and now…things may not be so good for Manson."

"Did Niccals know Manson would be infringing on his contract by giving him the injection?" Again, Noodle nodded. Gillian raised her eyebrows. "Clever…incredibly reckless, but clever."

Noodle smiled. "I'm afraid that's Murdoc in a nutshell."

The healer looked troubled again. "Why would he be holding back now though? I don't think he's even in a position to make that kind of decision, to not scream on a sense of pride."

As much as she considered it, Noodle couldn't imagine why. "I'm afraid I don't know. Maybe we'll find out." She took the offered tea from Gillian and decided that, while they were talking, she'd ask about another topic that concerned her. "Are you worried about Russel?"

There was a pause. "Yes, I am" Gillian finally answered. "Mr. Pot, though perhaps a tad dim, has shown that he can at least follow direction and stay calm through this, even if he is a bit twitchy from not having a cigarette. Mr. Hobbs…I'm afraid I'm just not so sure."

The guitarist took a sip. "I don't think you need to be worried" she said. "He's been taking his medication, and he's been doing really well so far."

"Oh I don't question that love" she replied as she poured three more tea cups and set them on a tray. "He has been holding on, and he's been a tremendous help, but this is only going to get worse before it gets better. The simple truth is that if he falls to pieces on me, I can't handle both him and your bassist. And while Hobbs may survive any trouble, Niccals may not."

Noodle frowned at this, not sure of what to say. Turns out she didn't have to say anything because a speck of light fluttered into the kitchen through the open window and proceeded to zip around all over the place.

"Steren stand still for a moment before you make us all motion sick." Gillian admonished.

"I nearly forgot about this" Noodle said as she moved off her chair and set her tea down.

The speck came to a stop on the counter by the table and since it was no longer moving the light died down and Noodle could finally get a look at it. Turns out 'it' was indeed a girl, as she resembled a very small woman with long braided hair, pointed ears and a gossamer dress, with wings fluttering delicately. Noodle looked closely at this creature, and the little thing wasn't too fond of being eyeballed.

"Why don't you take a picture, it lasts longer!" she said in her light voice. Noodle backed up right away, apologizing.

"Noodle this is Steren, one of the last remaining sprites in this realm who occasionally acts as my eyes and ears" Gillian explained as she made introductions. "Steren this is Noodle, the guitarist for a very popular band who was just sprung from the netherworld."

"Pleased to meet you" Steren said as she curtsied daintily.

"Likewise" Noodle replied, still amazed that she was talking to a sprite.

"What did you find out?" Gillian asked her tiny friend. "In English please, so Noodle can hear."

Steren seemed apprehensive about giving information in front of this stranger, but decided to Gillian's lead. "Not a lot I'm afraid. Things are quiet for now. Near as we can tell the underworld is still locked up tight." She put her hands behind her back and began to pace on the countertop. "There is one thing, however."

Gillian placed both hands on the counter and leaned forward. "Tell me."

"Well, there are rumors going around that someone was asking about Murdoc Niccals in magical circles. Apparently this person is not too subtle, and has been talking to people rather blatantly about some bloke named Little…Jim…something," Gillian and Noodle shared a look at that; Steren didn't notice "This is a human however, a live one, so outside of lockdown and therefore a possible issue."

"Man or a woman?"

The sprite shrugged. "Don't know. The information I got was fourth hand at least, I couldn't find anything else out."

Gillian folded her arms. "Then I guess a name is out of the question."

"I just report it like I see it" Steren replied, trying to sound hurt and put out.

The healer rolled her eyes. "And I appreciate it, don't be so dramatic." The sprite merely smiled.

"This human, can he or she find us here?" Noodle asked Gillian.

"I don't know love; it depends on who it is and how much they want to find us. Rest assured though whoever it is will get one hell of a fight if he or she starts poking around here looking for trouble. We'll beef up security in the mean time."

A bit of a racket came from down the hall, followed by a short cry of pain.

"You might want to look into that" Steren said.

Noodle was already heading down the hall. "Keep looking into it. Let me know" Gillian said quickly to the tiny woman, and the sprite took off back out through the window.

Over in the bedroom Russel had put almost his entire weight on Murdoc to keep him from leaping off the bed while 2D had a hold of his flailing arms, though tenuously, as he was still gun shy about being hit in the nose again. Noodle took one arm to try to help.

"For God's sake be careful" Gillian said to the drummer. "You'll end up crushing him."

"Well how do you want to handle this, huh?!" Russel snapped at her.

Gillian got around on the other side and shoved the larger man off her patient somewhat and took one side of their bassist while he took the other. "There, this balances it somewhat, doesn't it?" she said coolly. Russel scowled but said nothing else.

Gillian looked closely at Murdoc. His eyes were shut tight, his lips pressed into a thin line, small sounds were coming from his throat but were quickly stifled. She could see plainly that he desperately wanted to scream but wouldn't allow himself to do it. "He is holding back" she said quietly.

"Holding back what?" 2D asked.

"Gillian thinks he's keeping himself from screaming" Noodle explained. "Now that I look at him I think she's right."

"Why would he be doing that?" Russel asked.

Gillian shook her head. "I don't know, but he's only making it worse for himself, he's putting more strain on his system, and his heart can't be taxed like this." She leaned over. "Murdoc?" she called; "Murdoc listen to me. Don't hold the pain in. Scream or cry out if you need to."

He grunted but nothing else came out.

"Niccals, are you hearing me? Let it out, mate."

He shuddered hard and tried to throw 2D and Noodle off him, but with no luck. "I…I won't…" he managed to say.

"Why not?" Gillian pressed. "You can do it here mate. Come on, let it out."

He gasped for air, but was able to force more words out. "I…please…don't…I won't…I won't scream…Dad…I won't scream…I won't scream Dad … please … I won't…"

There was a suspended moment as Gillian, Noodle and Russel realized with horror what was being implied by these delirious ramblings. 2D didn't understand it straight away, but he could pick up on the tension radiating from the other three.

Gillian had to force herself to focus again and say the next few sentences. "Murdoc listen to me. Your father isn't here mate. He's not here. You don't have to worry. You can scream."

Murdoc's eyes opened slightly. They were overly bright and dazed. "He…he's not…he's not here?" His voice was fearful and hopeful at the same time, almost childlike.

Gillian sighed. "No mate he's not here. I know you're hurting. Scream out loud if it hurts, it'll help."

At that Murdoc took a few breaths and started with a small cry. With each breath he grew louder and louder until finally he was screaming full on. To the others it was a simultaneously horrible and wonderful sound. Noodle had to bite her lower lip to keep from welling up and Russel turned his head away, as if trying to block it out. 2D just watched and Gillian focused on what she was doing to help.

After what seemed like an eternity he stopped screaming, having seemingly exhausted himself. He sagged back on the bed and curled onto his side, trembling but somehow looking better.

Everyone let him go and took a step back. Gillian set a hand on her hip. "The evil that men do" she said as she rubbed her other hand over her face.

"Shakespeare?" Russel guessed.

"Yes sir."

2D's eyes widened as it finally came to him. "He was…he was saying his dad-"

"Yes" Gillian confirmed.

"Shit" was all the singer could say about it.

Noodle was starting to look angry as she thought about this. "You know he talked about what a…_bastard_ his father was" and she really bit down on the word 'bastard', "but he…just acted like it didn't bother him that much."

"Of course it bothered him" Gillian replied; "no one escapes abuse unscathed. It changes a person; turns them into a basket case. Often they grow up to become abusers themselves because it's all they know."

She noticed all three of them were staring at her. "I live alone and work at night, I watch daytime television" she explained, guessing what they were thinking. "But it just goes to show" she went on, approaching the man in the bed "that you can have all the fame and success in the world, you can act like nothing can bother you, that you don't care and live the depraved, self-indulgent lifestyle of a rock star/Satanist…but sometimes deep down you're still a scared little boy from Stoke." She laid a hand on his brow in sympathy, brushing his hair aside, a gesture he would've pulled away from had he been in possession of his senses, while his band stood close by.

* * *

I hope that wasn't too traumatizing. By the way, in case you were wondering, I watch _Dr. Phil_, so that's where a lot of Gillian's psychobable came from. Stay tuned.


	14. Chapter 14

I'm glad to finally get this up. My computer has been a bit on the fritz the last few days, and I, with my lack of technical savvy, have yet to figure out what the problem is. I think it's one of the great ironies of our age that computers are supposed to make our lives easier.

But enough about me and my woes. It's time to resolve someone else's. Read on.

* * *

By the following morning, the restraints had to be brought out.

There was much discussion, much debate, but in the end the call was Gillian's and she made it. It had gotten to the point where Murdoc had become too unpredictable, too volatile, and eventually they would've worn themselves out trying to protect both themselves and him. So for the sake of all concerned, Gillian brought out the restraints.

She enlisted Russel and 2D to help once she realized the patient wasn't going to make it easy. He had been raving for some time about something with black eyes, and was ready for a fight if any of them came near him. Noodle's best guess was that he was talking about the demon boy, but they really couldn't be sure and he was in no position to clarify further. With some effort they managed to get his arms and legs tied down, with a strap across his middle. They made him as comfortable as they could, and the straps were padded, so they wouldn't bite into his skin if he pulled against them, which he did, repeatedly

As Gillian brought a clean blanket in she caught the other three looking at the situation with unhidden dismay. She tucked the blanket around the bassist as best she could and turned to address the band.

"Look, I know this is hard to watch, but believe me this will be better in the long run, and we don't have much longer to go. We need to hold out."

So they left it at that, but the mood was tense from that point on as the three of them watched him struggle and listened to his distress. It continued for hours, with no end in sight. Though they appreciated that their backs no longer ached and their arms were no longer strained trying to hold a full grown man down, it seemed like the price was too high. Gillian tried to get everyone to take a break but no one was really in the mood to entertain that suggestion, and they ended up sitting around the bed keeping watch.

What could've been the hardest moment occurred a few hours after Murdoc was first strapped down. He collapsed back on the bed after struggling for a good five minutes straight against the straps. Gillian came around to mop the sweat off his face, and between his labored gasps he managed to say a few words. "Please…I can't…please…let me die…please…just let me die."

That was almost too much. Noodle got up paced a bit, a hand over her mouth. 2D wrapped his arms around himself. Russel just sat very still, as if holding on to something within.

"Hey, all of you listen to me right now" Gillian said urgently, bringing them back to earth. "You have to understand a very important distinction. He doesn't actually want to die. He just wants the pain to stop, and it _will_ stop. And may I remind you we have just six hours to go. We've made it this far, and I am telling you, _no one_ is going to puss out on me at this point."

Upon hearing this, Noodle reset her determination and sat back down while 2D unwound himself. Russel, however, kept still for a while longer.

************************************************************************************************************************************************

An excruciatingly long five hours and fifty five minutes passed after that, and by the end the band was practically bouncing off the walls.

Russel was counting down the minutes with his watch in Murdoc's room, with 2D sitting nearby, and he couldn't help but get a sense of deja vu, thinking back on how he watched the time this closely when they had waited for Gillian to return to Kong with the antidote two nights ago.

"Is it time yet?" 2D asked for the hundredth time.

"Almost."

Over in the medical room further down the hall Noodle paced as Gillian prepared the medication. "Is there a chance this could hurt him?" the guitarist asked.

"There is, but the fact that we waited has improved his chances considerably." The healer had filled the syringe and gave it a tap or two with her fingers. "There, this will pretty much knock him out for about twelve hours, hopefully long enough for the pain to subside completely."

Russel's voice carried from down the hall loud and clear. "Time's up; where's that shot?"

"Coming" Gillian called back. She carefully capped the syringe and brought down the hall with Noodle trailing close behind. Once in the room the two men practically pounced on them. "Is that it?" Russel asked sharply.

"This is it" she replied calmly.

"And this will help him?" 2D wanted to know.

"That's the idea Blue" she came over to Murdoc's left side. At her approach he opened his eyes and simply stared at her, as if trying to place her. "Don't worry mate" she told him gently. "This will help you feel better." She took a hold of his left arm, past the wrist cuff, to where the IV was placed, and inserted the syringe into the tubing.

Almost instantly the drug had the desired effect. His body became slack, the tension gradually draining from his muscles. The deep lines of pain on his face faded and his breath came to him a bit more easily. Finally he lost the battle to keep his eyes open, and they closed as he relaxed into a deep and badly needed sleep.

The silence that came upon the room was almost startling, and the band found it disconcerting for a moment. Gillian didn't seem bothered. Once setting the recapped syringe aside she merely pressed her fingers into Murdoc's wrist and kept her eyes on her watch, counting the beats of his pulse. She stayed that way for a long time, just counting, until she finally let him go.

"Alright, if he was going to have a reaction to the medication it would've happened by now, but his pulse is even," she used a stethoscope to listen to his lungs; "and his breathing's fine." She started to un-strap his left wrist. "We'll continue to monitor him, but, for now, it looks like he's going to be okay."

The relief in the band was obvious, though it was a bit much to take it all in at once. Noodle came to Murdoc's other side and worked on the right-hand strap. "Let's get these horrible things off him." Russel and 2D took an ankle each, and Gillian unhooked the strap across the waste.

"Will he sleep through the night?" Russel asked.

Gillian nodded. "At least;" Guessing what he was thinking she beat him to the punch. "All of you take a break" she said as authoritatively as she could while she made her patient comfortable. "Get some air, take a nap, a shower, eat something, whatever you need."

They looked at each other as they considered this. "I really need a fag" 2D admitted.

The healer stopped what she was doing and thought for a moment, before reluctantly fishing through her pockets. "Normally I wouldn't do this" she said as she pulled out a set of keys. "But we've all had a rough couple of days, and I can't say I blame you." She tossed the keys to him, which he tried to catch but ended up bouncing around in his hands before Noodle caught them and handed them to him. "Take my car, it's out back" Gillian went on. "It's a heap, but it'll get you from A to B. There's a shop down the road. Just don't tell me what you're getting, and do what you need to do outside my home; let me live in blissful ignorance."

2D looked down at the keys in his hand, surprised but pleased. "Thanks. Um, does anybody else need anything?"

Noodle thought. "If they have green tea, I'd take that." Russel just waved him off.

"Alright, I'll be back", and he pocketed the keys and left.

"Lock the door after yourself!" Gillian called after him. She had been vigilant about securing her cottage after hearing someone might be tracking Niccals down.

"I need air" Russel said quietly and walked out without another word. Noodle watched him leave, wondering whether to go after him. "Let him go" Gillian advised, and the guitarist reluctantly did.

"Is he stable for now" Noodle asked, and Gillian nodded. "Alright, I'm going to…just take a break; is that alright?" Again, Gillian nodded and the girl left as well, leaving Gillian alone with her patient.

"Now comes the anti-climax" she told the sleeping Murdoc knowingly (she often spoke to her patients, whether they could hear her or not). "This is the part where everyone's been through over two days of literal and proverbial hell, and suddenly it's like 'That's it?' But hopefully we're in the clear, and barring any unwelcome visitors both you and your band can get the rest you need."

* * *

So there's the worst of it over, but the band has a couple more hurdles to overcome. More on that later.

Let me say again a big thank you to everyone who's reviewed my little story and offered such wonderful support and praise. I'm so glad you guys are enjoying it, and keep the feedback coming.


	15. Chapter 15

Did you miss me? I wanted to do a chapter that kind of showed how everyone else was rattled by this whole ordeal, not just the dude trying to survive it, plus a little something to set up the next chain of events. So that's what this little spiel is about. Written from different points of view so you get the whole picture.

* * *

Once Russel got outside through the front door he stopped in his tracks for a second. He just breathed, taking in the country air. It was dusk and the sun was setting past the horizon, setting an orange glow over everything in sight. He could see why Noodle always preferred wide open spaces over the hustle and bustle of cities.

But that was as far as he got with his musings because he could feel himself coming unglued. He could hear the screams in his head, and they quickly wiped out all other thought. His heart rate climbed, his breathing became unsteady, and he sank to the ground and just…disconnected.

**************************************************************************************************************************************************

Inside, Noodle wandered around the sitting room aimlessly, looking for some kind of distraction, _any _kind of distraction. She perused the books on the shelves, the pictures on the walls, some old, some very old, some new. The guitar and lute sat on their stands near the window. She hadn't played in years now, and she wanted to try and see if she could still do it but didn't want to touch Gillian's things without permission. Still, she at least picked up the guitar and held it in her hands for a moment, savoring the feel of it. It was an old and fairly cheap model, if she was being honest, but it was still a guitar.

Once she set it down on a chair, she continued along, and found a mounted sword hanging on the wall. It was an older style, possibly before the A.D. era, and she found herself drawn to it.

"You like that, huh?"

She jumped a mile before she realized it was just Gillian. The healer was leaning against the side of the hallway entrance. "Sorry love, I didn't mean to sneak up on you."

"It's alright." She replied, shaking it off. "I guess I'm a bit jumpy. How's Murdoc, is he okay?"

"He's fine; practically orbiting the moons of Jupiter. I've got him rigged up; if anything changes with his vitals the equipment will let me know." She walked over to the front window and took a look outside quickly at her front step before coming over to the mounted sword. "I see you're admiring the prize of my collection. That sword is a replica of the one Queen Boudica used to defend Britain against the occupying Roman forces. Everyone in my tribe knows her story forwards and back."

Noodle nodded. "It's beautiful. I'm more familiar with the Japanese style of weaponry, but this is quite impressive."

Gillian started to head to the kitchen when she noticed her guitar on a chair. "You know, you could give her a try if you like."

Noodle turned around and, looking a little guilty for moving it, said. "Sorry, I just…haven't played for a while, and…"

"I can imagine. Go ahead. She's meant to be played, not looked at."

Grinning, Noodle went and picked up the guitar, sitting on the couch with it to get more comfortable. Gillian made her way to the kitchen and started opening cupboards. "I should've sent a list with Mr. Pot when he left; we're going to need more food soon. I'll make us all something and then I should look over my weaponry and make sure we're locked up for the night."

"Do you think that's necessary" Noodle asked as she moved her fingers over the neck, trying to remember the chords. "It was just a rumor after all, and we don't know if anyone will find us here."

"Ever since Steren's last report I've had this bad feeling I haven't been able to shake" Gillian admitted. "Maybe I'm still in hyper-vigilant mode after the last two days, but there's a part of me that feels like we got off too easy."

Noodle froze for an instant. She set the instrument aside, got up and turned to face the kitchen. "Easy? You…you really think this was easy?" Incredulity was rising within her, plus a few other things.

"No, love" Gillian said from the kitchen. "What I was saying is-"

"Were you not there?" Noodle cut her off, starting to get angry. "Were you not standing right there? He was in _agony_ for two days, for God's sake."

"Noodle" Gillian said as she started to come into the sitting room.

"He was screaming, practically crying, not able to recognize us and _begging_ for death." Alright she was loosing it now, and a part of her knew that, and that this was about everything that had happened and not about Gillian. But a much bigger part of her didn't care.

"Noodle-"

"He was seeing every nightmare he'd ever had, so many horrible things, like the Mexican prison he was in and even his God damned father, and you're going to sit there with a straight face and say this was too easy?!"

"NOODLE!" At that the guitarist stopped and kind of realized what had just happened.

"May I explain please?" Gillian asked evenly. "This was not easy, I know that. But think for a moment about the magnitude of what has happened. Murdoc went to hell, for heaven's sake, of his own accord, _hell_. He was down there for three days and managed to not only survive but to make it to your trial in the nick of time. Do you have any idea what the odds are on that? That's a number I can't even calculate, mostly because I'm terrible at math. He goes head to head with an unscrupulous and well-connected sociopath and manages to outsmart him. Both of you then proceed to make it out alive and before lockdown occurs which is a bloody miracle in and of itself. But then he survives the poison long enough for me to get there with an antidote. And then I somehow manage to restart his heart after he's flat lined from one of the worst forms of death hell can offer."

She sighed and leaned a hand against the wall. "And finally, we manage to get him here without killing him and to keep him alive as he goes through torture no one should ever face. The three of you were able to keep your heads through all of this and despite that fact that there's a good chance Manson has contacts outside of hell and despite Steren's warning that someone is looking for us, he's made it through the 48 hours uninterrupted and the worst is now over, and he's _still here._"

Gillian took a breath and stood up straight again. "So considering all the many, _many _ways this could've ended badly, I stand by what I said; we got off easy."

Noodle realized she was right. They beat the odds in a major way. And she realized she had snapped at the woman who had kept them going through all of it. Before she could stop herself it all got to her and her eyes began to well up. She put her hands over her face, embarrassed at the show of emotion.

Gillian simply came closer and put her arms around the girl. Noodle tensed up for a second, but then relaxed, realizing she needed the support.

The healer let out a deep breath. "I'm sorry love, I shouldn't have snapped too. I've got to remember that despite how smart and brave and capable you are, you're a teenage girl and you've been through a lot lately."

"No I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that, after everything you've done for us. I don't even know why I did it."

Gillian pulled away to look her in the eye. "It's been a terrible two days. But you've all handled it beautifully. I think you're allowed an emotional moment or two."

Noodle smiled. Gillian gave her a push towards the discarded guitar. "Now why don't you plunk out a tune on that thing while I bustle around in the kitchen, yes?"

She was only too happy to oblige. After a moment or two of finding her way on he strings she was playing like she'd never put it down. Gillian even picked up her lute and played along while waiting for the kettle to boil. Noodle got so lost in the experience that before she knew it Gillian was standing beside her with a cup of tea in her hands.

"Haven't lost your touch at all, I see." She indicated the front door. "Want to help me take this out to your drummer."

Noodle set the guitar aside. "Russel? Where is he?"

"Out on the front step, and I'm fairly certain he's having some sort of mini-breakdown."

"What? How long has he been out there?"

Gillian shrugged; "Pretty much the whole time."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I checked on him, he's not in any danger, and…frankly, I figured he's earned it."

Noodle opened her mouth to protest but closed it again when she found that she couldn't argue with that either, and proceeded to follow her outside.

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

Out on the step Russel was sitting with his arms wrapped around his knees, a rather comical sight on someone as large as he is. The sun had long since set, and he was feeling a little better, but still wound up.

He thought he heard a door open, but didn't confirm that notion until a voice broke through his jumbled thoughts.

"Hey, how are we doing out here?"

He turned his head and saw two women leaning around the door, regarding him curiously. "Fine, I guess" was all he could think of to say.

"Do you need anything?" the smaller one asked.

"Nah, I'm good."

The taller woman came over. "Here, drink this" and she pushed a cup into his hands.

He looked down at it for a while. "What is it?"

"A secret blend of herbal tea; it's not Xanax but it'll do the trick."

Still wary, he took a sip, and finding it was in fact tea he drank more. Within a few minutes his head started to clear. He looked up at the two women and found he could remember their names now.

"You okay, Noodle?" he asked.

She smiled, relieved. "Yes I'm fine. So is Murdoc."

Oh yeah, Murdoc, and Gillian had been helping with Murdoc. Alright, he's got it now; he took a breath and another sip. "I fell apart didn't I?"

"Yes you did" Gillian replied.

"Shit"

"Hey" she went on. "You held out when it counted, and I know that wasn't easy. You didn't let anyone down. Be proud of that."

He thought this over for a minute, and then realized he was sitting on a cold walkway. "Can we go inside? My ass is freezing." With considerable effort Gillian and Noodle helped him to his feet. "I should've asked D to bring back some booze or something, after all that."

"Could've, would've, should've" Gillian said.

**************************************************************************************************************************************************

A few kilometers away 2D had just come out of the local shop with a paper bag. He pulled out the pack of smokes and lighter and tossed the bag and the rest of its contents through the open window and onto the passenger seat of Gillian's car.

As he stood in the parking lot he pulled out a cigarette and quickly lit it. He inhaled and every muscle relaxed. This was long overdue, but he'd have to remember to try to air out his clothes before going back to the cottage.

But he thought of everything that happened, and he found that the cig wasn't doing everything it would normally do. He sank down onto the asphalt and leaned against the hunk of metal that was Gillian's car. For a while he sat in the quiet twilight as he finished his smoke, and found that he had begun to shiver. Something told him that it didn't have anything to do with the weather.

**************************************************************************************************************************************************

Steren of Faerie fluttered through the realms of humankind, staying low and concealed, moving too fast for mortal eyes to detect. She swooped through the pockets of magick through the region, picking up pieces of conversation, visions of product, faces, names…to a sprite, it all melds together.

But in a local pub, a boisterous discussion between two amateur magus' caught her attention. _Oh yeah, that bloke from Gorillaz…bird's right mad…happening tonight…won't be pretty…_ Steren picked up speed, down the brook, past the green mounds towards the landfill, making her way to her human handler…and hopefully time would be with her…

* * *

So there you go. A little melodrama to perk up your evening, plus a little suspense to cap it off. Anyway, stay tuned.


	16. Chapter 16

I'm back. This chapter came to me fairly easily (I love it when that happens), though I had to do a bit of research to make sure it was accurate.

Alright, enough talk...the time for action has come!

* * *

For a second he didn't know where he was. Last he knew he was on stage with a mic in his hands and a herd…or group or pack or something…of Romero zombies had crashed the stage and were lurching towards him when…

Okay, it was a dream. He was back in Gillian's cottage. No worries.

2D looked at the clock; 2:36am. He rubbed his eyes. He'd been having weird dreams all night, ever since Gill made them all go to bed. If he was a thoughtful person, he would've considered that the last few days had gotten to him, but as it was that particular train of thought didn't occur to him. Instead, he got up and headed to the kitchen. A warm glass of milk always helped him fall back asleep.

As quietly as he could he crept out of his bedroom and moved down the hall, past the rooms where Russel and Noodle were sleeping and narrowly avoiding a run in with the grandfather clock. He came upon Murdoc's room and seeing that the door was open a crack with soft lighting slivering through he felt compelled to look in on his band mate.

He gently pushed the door open a bit and poked his head through. The room was lit by two candles in holders, so the light was low, but he could still make everything out. Even in the weak light Muds looked like shit. He was sound asleep and peaceful, but the last two days really showed in his pale face and dark circled eyes. But, D noted, the black lines on his face had faded a lot, which he hoped meant that Muds would be okay.

2D would've gone in further but then noticed that Gillian was in the room as well. She was asleep in an armchair, and he was happy about that; just before the band turned in it suddenly dawned on Noodle that their healer hadn't slept at all in the last two days, and she just about wigged out. Gillian had reassured them all that she's gone for three or four days without sleep before, when she's tending to patients on her own, and that she was fine, but Noodle wouldn't ease up until Gill promised that she would try to get some shut eye tonight. But even asleep it looked like she was still working. She had her knees brought up and her feet resting on the seat, and her arms around a sheathed sword resting across her with the hilt on her shoulder. 2D felt like if he came any further in she'd probably wake up, so he slunk back out and pulled the door shut again.

He found the kitchen and made it over to the fridge without stumbling on anything in the dark, a feat indeed as the only light came from the moonlight streaming through the sitting room window. The open refrigerator door offered more light to find the milk, but then he had to feel around for a class in one of the cupboards. He was quite pleased with his progress as he got the milk in the glass, the glass in the microwave, the milk back in the fridge, and the glass back out of the microwave without a spill or any other mishaps.

_Cheers_ he thought as he took a drink. He turned to head back to his room when a shadow caught his eye. He stopped to examine it, thinking it was probably a piece of furniture. But then just before he could move back towards the hall the shadow suddenly stood up straight and moved fast towards the window.

The singer let out a yelp of surprise, which was followed by the sound of shattering glass as the milk slipped from his hand. The shadow opened the window and slipped off back into the night so fast he wondered if he'd imagined it.

Running footsteps came from the hall and suddenly Gillian was there, the unsheathed sword in her hand. "What? What?" she demanded.

"Someone was here, just a second ago."

She flicked the light switch and looked around; "Where?"

He pointed to the window. "Back out through there." Gillian ran to the window and looked outside, but couldn't see what they were looking for.

Noodle and Russel appeared at the hallway entrance, Noodle in borrowed pajamas, Russel in shorts and a t-shirt, like 2D. At the singer's warning they managed to avoid the broken shards of glass on their bare feet. "What's going on?" Noodle asked.

"We have an intruder" Gillian replied, all business. "Back outside, but possibly still on the grounds. Here" she tossed her sword to Noodle, who caught it easily by its hilt one handed. "Get back down to his room. Guard him." The guitarist turned quickly and ran.

"What are you going to do?" Russel asked Gillian.

"Defend my home and everyone in it" she replied simply as she made her way to the cabinet near the back door. Once she had it open it the boys could see an assortment of weapons. After selecting two fighting knives she called out "Noodle!?"

"Clear!" she called back. "I'll stay with him!"

"Do that!" She turned to Russel and 2D as she strapped the knives to her back with a harness. "Alright I'm going to look for whoever this is. Hobbs, I need you in Niccals' room, you need to back Noodle up."

"Okay" he replied nervously. "Don't I get a weapon?"

"Do you know how to use one?"

He thought for a second. "I guess you don't have a glock in there?"

She shook her head. "I hate guns, never use them."

"Yeah, me too;" an image of Dell and the others in the drive-by quickly flashed through his mind before he forced himself to focus. "Okay, uh…" he tried to think back on the other guys he knew in Brooklyn; "Switchblade?"

She went back to the cabinet and pulled out a small dagger. "Will this do?" He nodded and took it from her, making a quick exit to Murdoc's room.

"Pot, you're with me" Gillian went on and she turned back to the cabinet.

2D looked nervous and confused. "Doing what?"

"I need some kind of back up, so you're joining me outside."

The color drained quickly from his face. "What? Seriously?"

"Seriously;" she pushed a fighting staff into his hands. "There, I don't think you'll hurt yourself on that."

He looked down at the giant stick he was holding. "Wait, I…I don't think I can do this."

She looked him square in the eyes and spoke gently. "Just stay behind me, do what I say, and try to be as tough as you can. You'll know what to do when the time comes Blue, and believe me, I wouldn't ask you to do this if I didn't think you could handle it."

He took a deep breath. "Okay…besides I think my luck's been good tonight."

She didn't know what that meant, but she grabbed a couple of torches and told him to go put on some shoes.

* * *

Just a taste, I know, but hold onto your hats. More coming soon.


	17. Chapter 17

Back again. It took some time to get the action here just right. You ever had that problem, where you're trying to write down a whole lot of things that are happening at once and you're trying to make sure it doesn't come across as repetetive? Hopefully I made some headway here. Read on.

* * *

Russel walked through the bedroom doorway, completely unprepared for the pint sized guitarist that lunged at him with a sword.

"Whoa, whoa sista it's me!"

Noodle instantly pulled back. "Sorry…you never know. Has Gillian gone to look for this intruder?"

Now that he was sure he wasn't about to be skewered, Russel came all the way into the room. "Yeah, and I think I heard her tell D that he's going with her."

"2D? Really?"

He shrugged. "I guess you gotta work with what you got."

While she surveyed the room again, checking the windows, he looked in on Murdoc. Despite the noise the dude hadn't even stirred. "Man, he's sleeping through all of this?"

"The medication she gave him was quite strong."

"No kidding…" He fingered the small blade in his hands. "What do we do now?"

Noodle gripped the hilt of her weapon hard. It felt different than a katana, but she was sure she could wield it effectively. "We wait."

**************************************************************************************************************************************************

The chill in the air certainly did not help matters, and 2D tried to keep from shivering as he followed Gillian through the grounds of her cottage. He had a torch in one hand and the fighting staff in the other, and he tried to hold the light steady. Fortunately the clear night and bright moon helped with visibility somewhat.

Ahead of him he could just make Gillian out, though her wearing a pink outfit helped somewhat. The cold didn't seem to be bothering her, even though she only had a tank top and pajama bottoms on. She was shining her torch around in a wide arc, carrying a fighting knife in the other hand, with the second knife still strapped to her back.

"See anything?" she asked.

"No", he replied, trying not to indicate how grateful he was that he hadn't.

"Keep your eyes and ears peeled. You're doing fine Blue."

They came to a small clearing in the wooded area, when a snap made them stop in their tracks. 2D bit down on his tongue to keep from cursing out loud.

"Stay behind me" Gillian reminded him, which he was only too happy to oblige. She approached the bush the snap came from. "Alright, make it easy on yourself!" she called out. "Come out slowly and keep your hands where I can see them!"

There was a long pause, and 2D was starting to wonder if there really was someone hiding there. The blast of fire that suddenly shot out of the bush removed any doubt about that.

"Get down!" Gillian shouted as she shoved him down to the ground and got on top of him. The fire ball evaporated and silence followed.

2D tried to get back up. "What the fuck was that?"

"Some form of magick, I'm not sure what." She leapt to her feet and pulled out her second knife as she dove for the bush. Unfortunately, whatever caused the fire had moved on.

"Damn it" she cursed. "Someone's playing games with us." She pointed to the ground with a blade. "Grab a torch and your staff and follow me, quickly."

He hustled to find everything in time, and then turned to follow her, only to realize he had lost her. With trembling hands he switched the torch back on and shone it to see where she had gone.

He heard another snap, and realized he was being watched. He dropped the torch to the ground and brought up the staff with both hands, waiting to swing at whatever was lurking about. He slowly inched backwards, making sure he didn't turn his back on the threat.

He heard another snap behind him. After steeling himself for a second he raised the staff over his head and spun around, bringing it down as hard as he could. Unfortunately, the only thing the staff connected with was an oak tree, and it managed to bounce back and hit him square between the eyes, knocking him flat on his back.

"Ah, fuck" he managed to say as he cradled his aching head. He couldn't dwell on it too long, because he realized a hooded figure in black was looming over him. He scrambled to find the staff but whoever it was lunged at him before he could reach it.

But just at the right moment a blur of pink tackled the black shape and sent it flying over top of him. He got to his feet in time to see Gillian and the intruder struggling with each other on the ground. The person in black suddenly struck Gillian with something hard, and got to its feet, pointing a small metal object square at the healer.

Acting fast, before he even knew what he was doing, 2D hurried over and swung the staff at the intruder's hand, knocking the object away and a second swing collided with the prowler's collar bone. The intruder grunted in surprise and quickly moved away before he could swing again, making a beeline back towards the cottage.

Gillian got to her feet, grabbed her knives and took up the pursuit. "Come on, we need to catch her!" she barked at 2D as she ran past. Glinting in the moonlight, he could see what he was pretty sure was blood trickling from the side of her head, but didn't have time to say anything. As he ran after her, he realized she had referred to the trespasser as a she. _Could've sworn it was a bloke_ he thought, but that could've just been the perspective from the ground.

**************************************************************************************************************************************************

The shattering window startled Noodle and Russel. "Get ready" she said as she brought the sword up, ready to strike. He quickly unsheathed the dagger and held it out. No one was getting in if he could help it, and he knew Noodle felt the same way.

But then a blast of energy came through the window, knocking Noodle off her feet and sending the sword flying. A hooded figure in black came fast through the window, and Russel lunged to meet it with the dagger. A second blast of energy sent him flying, slamming him against the wall with enough force to knock the pictures off. Dazed, he could just see the figure approach the bed…the bed with Murdoc in it…too fast for him to do anything.

But then Steren suddenly appeared, fluttering quickly through the open window and getting between the trespasser and Murdoc. The fairy let off a bright, strong flash of light, momentarily blinding the prowler. By that point Noodle had gotten back into action. She leapt onto the intruders back and used her feet to push off the bed and move them away from her band mate and then held on while the hooded figure tried to shake her off, blasts of fire and force coming off her in attempt to dislodge Noodle. Gillian climbed through the window just as Russel was getting to his feet. Tossing the knives to the side for a moment, Gillian leapt onto the intruder as well and used her and Noodle's combined weight to bring the figure in black to the floor. After struggling for a moment the healer pulled something gold off the prowler and tossed it to the side, where Steren fluttered down to collect it. Then pressing a knee into the middle of the intruder's back Gillian twisted the arms around and Noodle held the legs down, firmly immobilizing their attacker.

"Thank you Steren, perfect timing" Gillian said.

"As always" the fairy reminded her.

The healer ignored this and turned to Russel. "There's rope in my weapon's cabinet, grab it."

As he left 2D came through the window. "Did we get her?" he asked as he reached back through the broken pane, avoiding the shards of glass, to grab the staff he'd dropped on the ground.

"We got her" Noodle confirmed. "Not a moment too soon" she added as the intruder struggled on the floor, grunting and panting.

"Is everyone alright?" Gillian asked.

Noodle looked over to the bed, seeing that Mudoc hadn't moved. "I think so." As they waited she saw the blood on Gillian. "You're bleeding."

"I know." Gillian was panting and sweating by this point as well, but still chipper considering the circumstance. "Our visitor here got a swing in with what I can only assume was a gun." Thinking of this she twisted one of the arms a little more, causing their prowler to grunt in pain. "What, nothing to say to that, eh?"

"Hey, there's the speck of light again" 2D said, pointing at Steren. He held up the staff and asked Gillian "Do I still need this?"

"Keep it ready, just in case." She smiled up at him. "Thanks for coming to my rescue back there Blue. You did great." He grinned a bit and looked away shyly, his face tingeing red.

Russel came back in with rope and Gillian and Noodle tied up the intruder before they hopped off her. The healer then reached down, turned the trespasser over and pulled the hood off.

The band members took a step back; 'shocked' was too weak a word for their reaction when they saw who was glaring up at them from the floor. "Holy fuck" 2D said.

Russel put a hand on his head. "Okay this is some crazy shit right here."

* * *

I know, I know, but like I've said, I like to draw out the suspense. Please don't be mad. Watch for the next chapter, and all will be revealed.


	18. Chapter 18

So some of you think you may know who the intruder is? Well, the suspense ends here and it's time to find out if you're right.

* * *

Gillian had the bound intruder seated on a chair in the sitting room. Russel and 2D were still staring, just unable to accept it.

"Paula?" 2D finally asked.

Paula Cracker sat with her eyes down, her displeasure and outright disgust plain on her face. She hadn't said a word since Steren had searched her pockets while Gillian looked Murdoc over. Then Gillian and Noodle had pulled the would-be prowler out of the sick room and into the sitting room. And now the three band members, the healer and the sprite were looking over the situation.

"Of all the people in the world I'd never thought it would be you" Russel admonished. "Lord Almighty."

"Alright, forgive my ignorance" Gillian said as she dabbed at the cut on the side of her head with a wet cloth "but who is this woman?"

Russel sighed. "She used to be the guitarist for our band."

"And my girlfriend" 2D added.

"But then I caught her and Murdoc in the stalls doing things they shouldn't be doing" Russel went on. "And she was kicked out."

"And you punched Murdoc in the nose" 2D reminded him.

Noodle sat down on one of the stools. "And then I came along. I ended up being Paula's replacement."

"Ah yes" Gillian said as she finished cleaning her wound. "I seem to recall reading something about that."

"Plus she was out of her mind and she sucked as a guitarist" Russel added as an afterthought, trying to rile their attacker up. It worked nicely, as Paula visibly tensed but still didn't say anything.

"And you'd think that would be the last we'd hear of her" Noodle went on. "But then we found out Manson had hired her to kill us during our _Demon Days_ tour."

"Ah, so to summarize" Gillian said as she set the cloth aside. "Basically we've got an unbalanced, untalented musician who screws around with band mates in bathroom stalls, conspires with psychopaths to bump people off, and then breaks into unsuspecting people's houses in the middle of the night." She leaned over to get into Paula's line of vision. "You're just a class act all the way, aren't you sweet heart?"

"Piss off" Paula finally spat out.

Gillian mockingly faked some excitement. "Well look at that, she can talk too."

"I'd do a lot more if my hands weren't tied."

"Well they are, aren't they?" Tiring of this Gillian turned back to Steren, who was perched on the counter top. "What did you find on her?"

"Not much, but there are a couple of items of note; the first is this" and she fluttered up with a gold circular object on a thin chain that she dropped in Gillian's hand.

"There's something I'd like to know" Russel said. "Since when can Paula blast people off their feet and create fire out of nothing?"

"That would be what this is for" Gillian replied, holding up the gold object. "It's borrowed magick, channeled through this little trinket. It looks impressive and it can hurt and maim, but really this is amateur stuff, used mostly for show. I know proper witches and magus' who can spit better magick than this." She turned back to Paula. "What, did you get this for two quid from some wanna-be magus with a side crack addiction?" Again, Paula exercised her right to remain silent, though with some difficulty.

Steren fluttered up with something else. "This is the most troubling thing I found." She carefully placed a vial of clear liquid in Gillian's hand. The vial was small enough to fit in the middle of Gillian's palm, but seeing it her eyes darkened considerably. The band watched her examine it, as she cautiously unscrewed the lid and placed her nose close to the opening, almost instantly recoiling. She quickly recapped the vial and, turning very serious, she approached Paula with it.

"If this is what I think it is" she began, holding the vial up, "there's enough here to kill an entire football team. And its slow acting, which means someone like me wouldn't detect symptoms right away." She set the vial down on the coffee table and came closer, resting her hands on the armrests of Paula's chair to get right in her face. "Did you manage to slip any of this to him?" There was no reply. "I ask again, did you get any of this to him?"

"Fuck off, you stupid cow."

That did it. Gillian suddenly grabbed Paula by her shirt, pulled her up out of the chair and slammed her hard against the nearby wall. "I…AM…IN…NO…MOOD!" the healer roared.

The band was shocked to see her so angry. "Whoa Gill, take it easy" Russel said.

Gillian didn't hear him, but was still focused on the woman who had violated her home, attacked her friends and put her patient in danger. And honestly, she was fine with releasing some of the tension of the last few days on this particular person. "Did you give him anything?!"

Even pinned against the wall, Paula remained defiant. "Fuck off!"

Gillian slammed her against the wall again. "DID YOU GIVE HIM ANYTHING?!"

"Gillian stop" Noodle said, hopping to her feet. She wasn't too force full with her protestations however, because they needed to know and, truth be told, she was kind of enjoying watching this.

One more slam, and it was a rough one, enough to rattle teeth; "Ow, I didn't get it to him, alright?!" Paula finally admitted. "I didn't get the chance, your stupid fairy and that crap guitarist bitch got to me before I could!"

A tense moment passed while Gillian decided if she was telling the truth. Finally, she shoved the bound woman back onto the chair and walked away, shaking her arms out a bit. "Steren would you go and check on him please, make sure he's still rigged up in case there are any problems. Oh, and could you take a look outside near the clearing, I'm certain you'll find a gun out there."

"Happy to oblige" the sprite said as she fluttered away quickly.

"Wow" 2D said as the healer passed him, still amazed at her outburst. "I didn't know you had it in you."

"Oh I've got it in me Blue."

The band's current guitarist brought them back to the main point. "I'm guessing that her being here has something to do with Manson?"

"I think that's the most likely scenario" Russel agreed.

Noodle decided to do some interrogating of her own. "Did Manson get in touch with you from hell? Have you been communicating with him somehow, maybe through channeling?"

Paula shook her head bitterly. "Like I'm going to waste my breath talking to you, you bitch."

"Hey, watch your mouth!" Russel shouted, beating everyone else to it.

Taking a calming breath Gillian turned back to Paula as well. "How did you know where we were?"

"I'm not telling you lot anything" Paula shot back.

Undeterred, Gillian kept going. "Are you working alone?"

"I'm the only one who stayed loyal to the cause" she said, and a hint of pride entered her voice. "I'm the one he could depend on."

Hearing this Gillian raised her brows. Apparently there was a way to break through the defenses; they just had to appeal to the right parts of her fractured personality. She shared a glance with Noodle, and saw that she could see it too.

"So" Gillian said as she folded her arms and slowly paced around their prisoner. "It must've taken some work to find us."

Paula giggled a bit, sounding a little unhinged. "You have no idea. Going through all the magus' I could find, having them do location spells until we finally tracked the lot of you down. Then all I had to do was get an amulet and I was in your house."

Well, that explained that. Noodle cleared her throat. "I bet Manson was glad he could reach you."

"Of course you twat." If looks could kill, Noodle would already be six feet under the way Paula fixed her eyes on on her. "He'd been talking to me for weeks about your trial, how he was finally going to stick it in Niccals' craw. I was just happy to hear about you being damned for eternity. Do you know what they do to people like you down there?"

"Did you use a Ouija board?" Gillian asked pleasantly before that particular line of discussion went too far.

Paula scoffed at the notion; "nothing so mundane. You know Murdoc, he showed me a couple of things he was working on while we had our _alone_ time." She threw a knowing look to 2D, who looked down at the floor, avoiding her gaze, before she turned back to Gillian. "I hear he got pretty good at summoning all sorts of things. I found a couple of people that would provide equipment for me to channel Jimmy's spirit from hell."

Her eyes moved down as she drew from her faulty memory. "But then I didn't hear from him the day of your sentencing. I waited and nothing. I couldn't channel anything from hell. I had to speak to spirits in limbo to find out hell was in lockdown…and why it was in lockdown." She pursed her lips together, seemingly forgetting where she was.

Gillian decided to milk it for all its worth. She was standing behind Paula by this point, and she leaned over, resting her hands on her knees so she could speak near Paula's ear. "And you must have put the pieces together after that."

"Oh yeah, a few of the magus' I hung out with were able to get a fix on you all. I had standing orders that if anything happened I'd track you all down and finish you off. Jimmy told me about the vial, where to find it, and I just had to find you. And I did. Niccals was going to die first. No less than he deserves. How dare he survive the Aconite while Jimmy gets his soul ripped to pieces?"

She looked back up. "And I'd kill you all if I had the chance-" And without another word she screamed and tried to lunge at Noodle, but apparently forgot that her ankles were tied, as all she managed to accomplish was to land flat on her face. Gillian and Russel each took an arm and got her back onto the chair as she thrashed and continued to make a lot of noise. "Do I have to tie you to this?!" Gillian asked over the fuss; Paula stopped her struggling, but still looked pissed off.

Leaving her there, Gillian motioned for the others to join her by the kitchen counter, where they could talk with a little more privacy. "You're right" the healer said to Russel. "She's a whacko. But, ask the questions in a round about way, with a tinge of admiration, and she gets quite talkative."

"You know" 2D said. "I'm starting to wonder what I saw in her."

Russel shook his head. "We've all been wondering that D."

Steren came fluttering back into the kitchen, carrying what was definitely a gun. Gillian scowled at it, taking it from her and setting it on the counter without another word.

"You're welcome" Steren said.

Noodle looked back at the loathsome yet pitiful creature in the chair. "So what do we do with her? We can't let her go, she'll get back to her cohorts and equipment and who knows what else. I wouldn't put it past her that she's using dangerous materials, and that she'll try this again. But then again, she can't stay here; she may hurt Murdoc or any of us."

"No, you're right" Gillian agreed as she thought this over.

2D scratched at his head. "Um…we're not going to have to kill her or something, are we? I mean I don't like her, but we don't have to do that, right?"

Gillian couldn't help but chuckle. "I think we can resolve this without putting ourselves in danger or killing anyone." She pondered for another moment, then asked "How are you all at acting?"

They were surprised for a moment. "Um, I think we're passable." Russel said, looking at the other two for confirmation. "I mean, we've been in music videos before."

"We almost made a movie" 2D pointed out.

"We could probably do it if we needed to" Noodle confirmed. "Why do you ask?"

Gillian held up a finger, with a hint of a smile on her lips. "I'll explain in a bit. Right now I'm going to make a phone call. Steren if you could please watch over the patient while the rest of you keep an eye on the prisoner, I'll be back." She made her way to the medical room while Steren flew off to Murdoc's room, leaving the band members alone with Paula.

While they were waiting, 2D felt compelled to approach his ex. Looking her over, he was amazed at how much she'd changed. She wasn't the rock & roller he knew anymore; she looked like a common thug, skinny and pale, dressed all in black.

She looked up at him with repulsion. "What are you looking at face ache?"

"Nothing" he shrugged. "Just…thinking."

She rolled her eyes. "You? I'd like to see that. Don't be stupid."

Feeling somehow let down, though he didn't know why, he merely turned and headed back to his band mates. Russel patted him on the back and Noodle placed a hand on his shoulder, and he smiled appreciatively. Now they had to wait for Gillian's plan…whatever that was.

* * *

So there you have it. Did anybody guess who it was? And how are they going to get out of this one? Stay tuned.


	19. Chapter 19

Happy St. Patrick's Day! In honor of the day where we're all a little bit Irish and wearing o' the green, I've included an Irish Gaelic saying in my latest chapter, complete with pronuciation, so you can impress your friends ('cause really, who doesn't want to do that?).

So, onto our group of heros' master plan...

* * *

As annoyed as he was that he had to be called out tonight when he truly was not in the mood, Sergeant Shaw was at least happy that it was an interesting case; a break and enter of a cottage out in the country side. Usually their small precinct saw little action if any at all, maybe a few domestic disputes or some loitering teenagers. This was at least something he could write a gripping report about.

What he and the other officers could ascertain was that around 4am that morning the home of a young couple was broken into by a woman who was clearly unhinged and violent. The poor newlyweds who owned the house were scared to death, as were the people staying with them, but they had managed to subdue their attacker and keep her contained until the police arrived. The owners of the cottage, a Mr. Stuart Wilkinson and his wife Rose, were quite the pair themselves. Mrs. Wilkinson was a brunette with long hair wearing pink sleepwear and a pink robe, and her husband was a tall skinny lad with hair dyed blue (Shaw could never figure out why people choose to look that ridiculous).

Shaw was taking statements, and Mrs. Wilkinson, as agitated as she was, was more than happy to tell the whole story. "She just barged in, I couldn't believe it, she just broke in, I mean we were sound asleep, we hear this crash, and we were…well we were well freaked out. Weren't we darling?" she asked her husband, grabbing his hand.

He looked startled for a moment before quickly agreeing with her. "Oh yeah… well freaked out." Shaw made a mental note that Mr. Wilkinson was not the sharpest tool in the shed. No wonder his wife did all the talking.

"Fortunately Stuart here" and she patted her husband on the arm "grabbed the cricket bat in the closet and took a swing at her." She brushed her fingers across the bruise on his forehead, right between his eyes. "He got this when she fought back, poor thing. And then our friend Ted, that's the one visiting from New York, he helped Stuart tie her up. I'm so very glad both of them were there. I mean what if Yuriko and I had been home alone; who knows what would've happened?"

The sergeant glanced at the other two people who were in the house. A large, black male from the U.S., apparently a friend of the couple named Ted Jones, and a teenaged student all the way from Japan who was boarding with them named Yuriko Katsumoto. Mr. Jones had a hand on Miss Katsumoto's shoulder, as she was clearly upset. "Is that how it happened Mr. Jones?" Shaw asked.

"Yeah, man I couldn't believe it. And once we get her tied up she goes on about all this crazy stuff about hell and looking for someone and talking to a dead guy."

"Oh, and poor Yuriko" Mrs. Wilkinson added. "All the way from Japan, and this is what she comes to our country for?"

"I very scared, the bad lady hurt us" Miss Katsumoto confirmed in her broken English as she huddled closer to Mr. Jones.

By now two officers were bringing the suspect out of the cottage in hand cuffs, a white female with dark hair, somewhere around 30 years old Shaw would guess. She was not going peacefully, but she was no match for the cops leading her outside. "You bloody idiots!" she was saying; yelling, actually, completely ignoring her right to remain silent. "These people aren't who they say they are! They were in the biggest band in the world, for fuck's sake! They have a man in there that just came back from hell! I have to kill him!"

"You see?" Mrs. Wilkinson pointed to the suspect. "She's been going on like this the entire time we had her tied up. We have no idea what she's talking about, she's out of her head."

"Alright Mrs. Wilkinson" Sergeant Shaw said reassuringly as he put his pad away. "Seems like this is a fairly straightforward case, but are you sure you don't want to press criminal charges."

"Oh no" she shook her head, and though she was clearly still riled up, she attempted to compose herself. "She's clearly unstable, and as long as she gets the help she needs there's no need to take this further. We just want to put it behind us."

"Alright then." The last two officers at the scene came out the cottage after having examined the place, one of whom was carrying a gun in his gloved hand.

"There's no one else here, and the only damage seems to be a broken window" Constable Blake reported.

Constable Locksley, the one carrying the weapon, agreed. "Yeah, seems like a simple break in that was successfully foiled."

Shaw nodded. That was good enough for him, and he was eager to get this woman dropped off and get back to his precinct where his tea was waiting. "Alright lads let's get this miss checked into the nearest mental facility and call it a night." He tipped his hat to the couple. "Sorry we had to meet under these circumstances, and thank you for your cooperation."

"Oh thank you Sergeant, for coming out tonight" Mrs. Wilkinson said whole-heartedly as she shook his hand. After shaking Mr. Wilkinson's hand, Shaw headed back to the squad car. He could see Blake and Locksley say a few words to Mrs. Wilkinson; probably her thanking them as well, she seemed so grateful. Now all Shaw had to do was survive the drive to the mental hospital listening to the suspects ravings.

**************************************************************************************************************************************************

_Man, we're pulling this off _Russel realized with amazement as he watched the cops gathering themselves and Paula up to leave the cottage. If they were in New York there'd be no way they would get away with this. But apparently this was a small precinct, unused to dealing with big time action. Plus, Gillian was doing a great job playing the put out, agitated wife. Hell, if he hadn't been in on the whole scam he would've believed her himself.

As this Shaw guy and the other officers shut Paula away in the squad car, the last two cops approached Gillian with a smile. "I owe you both big time" she said to them quietly.

"Hey, we owed you first. We're just glad you and your friends are alright" Constable Blake assured her.

"We'll write up a report and make sure she stays put" Locksley added.

She smiled at them and waved "Thank you, lads; Rath De ort." (To the band members that last part sounded like "rah jay urt", and Noodle was the only one who recognized it as Irish Gaelic; a blessing that translates to "The grace of God be with you.")

The constables repeated the phrase and tipped their caps to her and, with a wave to the rest of her party, walked off to get into the second car. Once both cars drove off and out of sight, Gillian let out a breath. "And the company takes a bow" she said dramatically.

"Did we really just do that?" Russel asked with a chuckle.

"We really did" Gillian assured him as she pulled off the bathrobe covering the grass stains on her pink pajamas. "You all did fantastically. I mean Noodle, 'Bad lady hurt us', that was brilliant."

She smiled. "Well, I figured they wouldn't ask too many questions if they thought I couldn't speak English very well. You know, I thought for sure at least one of them would recognize us as Gorillaz."

Gillian pulled her hair off her face, where it had done a fine job hiding the bruise and cut she had received from Paula. "It's a small community where they're from. Most people there don't follow entertainment news too closely."

"So, you knew those two blokes?" 2D asked as they made their way back inside. "Those last two cops?"

"That was George Blake and Victor Locksley, they're cousins of mine" she explained as she closed and locked the door behind them. "I spoke to George on the phone and let him in on the whole plan, and he made sure he and Victor were the ones to examine the cottage. If anyone else had they probably would've had a few questions about why I have a cabinet full of weapons and why there's a practically unconscious man in one of the bedrooms." Steren flew into the kitchen to join them. "Or why there's a sprite in the house." Gillian added.

"The ploy went over well, I take it?" Steren asked and she hovered over them.

Gillian nodded. "The band played their roles brilliantly."

Steren landed on the counter, dousing her light. "Well, the patient's fine, and I think this Miss Cracker was telling the truth. If she had slipped him anything it would've reared its ugly head by now. George and Victor just asked me a couple of questions before taking the gun and leaving."

"Hey" 2D said as he took a look at Steren without her ethereal glow. "The speck of light is a girl."

Normally, Steren would be annoyed at being gawked at, but as it turns out she liked this guy (a rare thing for her), and she merely smiled and curtsied to him.

"Have you ever had to call your cousins over something like this before?" Noodle asked Gillian.

"No, fortunately; I don't want them to risk their careers over something small, but I think we can all agree this was a fairly large problem. But, as members of the tribe, George and Victor are there far beyond any cops duty. They'll write the report and make sure that Miss Cracker stays in the mental hospital. I don't think the last part will be a problem, considering how she's proven herself to be violent and out of her mind."

"What if the other cops check into everything?" Russel asked. "What if they find out the truth?"

"Since I'm not pressing criminal charges, they should let this all go. If it does come up then I and my cousins will cross that bridge when we get to it. But in the mean time, Miss Cracker is locked away where she can't hurt anyone and we've bought ourselves some time for him" she gestured down the hall "to recover."

They took a moment to drink it all in. "I gotta say" Russel began, looking and sounding a little guilty. "There seems to be a lot of people going out on a limb for us."

Gillian held up her hand to stop him there. "This is what we do mate. When people need help, we help. If something needs to be resolved, we resolve it. Believe me, if it hadn't been you lot it would've been someone else, or some_thing_ else that we ended up handling. It's just…what we do." He smiled at that, and so did the others.

"Did you need anything else tonight?" Steren asked. "I passed some honeysuckle on the way over here that has my name on it."

"You know, it's practically morning now" Gillian pointed out, checking her watch. "It's half five. And no, I think we can take it from here. Thank you again Steren, I don't want to think about what would've happened if you hadn't shown up."

"Cheers" the sprite replied and she was up and out so fast they hardly had time to realize it.

"Well then, is anybody good with patching up a window?" Gillian asked them. "Because we should tend to that and then try to get some sleep before the night is out."

* * *

There you have it, a little bait and switch with some inside help. Still a couple more things to wrap up, so stay tuned.

Let me say again how much I appreciate your reviews. I've had some really nice and encouraging ones lately, and I always love hearing feedback (it feeds my delicate ego). Thanks again and please keep it up.


	20. Chapter 20

Back again. I figure it's time for Murdoc to make a reapearance on the scene. How about you? Read on...

* * *

Over the next 24 hours there were three times that Mudoc Niccals woke up.

The first time he had been drifting in darkness, still in the grip of the drug that had eased his pain and pushed him into a deep sleep. What had drawn him briefly back to the surface was when he felt a cool breath of air on his warm face. He furrowed his brows, confused at this intrusion into his drug-induced stupor. He forced his lead-weighted eyelids to open and squinted at what looked like an open window.

The morning sun was streaming through, birds chirped nearby and the lightest scent of flowers seemed to be wafting in the breeze. He couldn't help but stare for a moment. It seemed like it had been a long time since he had seen something this…peaceful. His eyes moved upward, and he blinked at the open pane. Where there should've been glass there seemed to be brown paper. That didn't seem right.

But before he could dwell on it further his eyes fell closed, and he drifted back into darkness.

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The second time was not nearly as peaceful. He first became aware of heat and coldness somehow combined within him. He could see flames, could hear screams and feel a pain in his stomach unlike anything he'd ever known. He saw enemies, old and new, laughing at him, holding him down, relishing in his humiliation and his suffering. He wanted to scream, wanted to tell them all to fuck off, but couldn't, as he had a sense of drowning, of his lungs filling with water, or ice, or even fire.

"Whoa, whoa, easy mate, take it easy."

The gentle voice broke through it all with surprising precision. The flames, screams and laughter faded away and he found himself in some sort of room with earthy tones on the walls. Darkness loomed outside the windows, and the soft lighting made the shadows dance on the ceiling above his head. He still felt hot and chilled at the same time, still felt a pain in his stomach and his throat, but his fear had diminished greatly.

"Wh…where…?" he tried to ask.

"Shhh, easy now;" a woman came into his line of vision and put her hands on his chest to carefully push him back down onto a bed he realized he lying was on. "You're alright. You're in my home, and you're band is just down the hall; you've got nothing to worry about."

He set his head back on the pillow, but still had more questions. "Who…?"

"My name's Gillian, I've been looking after you." She pressed a cool cloth to his brow. "You've got a bit of a fever, but nothing more serious than that. Go back to sleep. You'll feel better soon."

He still felt unsettled, but soon found himself drifting off again, too exhausted to do anything about it.

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The third time it was a bright light and his very strong desire to yell at someone to shut the damn blinds that woke him up.

When he opened his eyes he saw weak sunlight coming in through the window. He felt like shit and didn't know where he was, but this was not such an uncommon thing, so he wasn't immediately alarmed. He glanced around to see if he recognized anything. The window looked familiar, so did the bed he was lying on, but nothing else did.

He became aware of a low humming, some sort of tune, but couldn't see where it was coming from. Lyrics soon followed.

"I'm special…_special_…so special…_special_…I've got to have some of your…attention…give it to me…"

Just as he was wondering why a disembodied feminine voice would be singing "Brass in Pocket" of all things, the source of the song revealed itself; a brunette woman in a t-shirt and jeans rose from a crouch next to his bed. She was momentarily distracted as she jotted notes on a clip board, so he looked her over and came to the conclusion that she wasn't bad looking. Rather cute actually, in a low maintenance way; still had no idea who she was, though.

She glanced over and realized his eyes were open. "Oh, good morning" she said cheerfully as she set the clip board aside. "I hope my weak attempt at singing didn't wake you. How are you feeling?"

He thought the question over as he took stock of himself. "Like something chewed me up and spit me out again" he replied tiredly, and then was surprised when he heard how hoarse he was.

She chuckled. "Sounds about right;" she put on a stethoscope. "It was touch and go for a while" she went on as she listened to his heart and lungs. "But it looks like you're going to be alright."

He reached his hand up to his neck. "Why does my throat hurt?"

There was a moment of hesitation, before she smiled reassuringly. "You were a little too vocal. I know, who would've thought, right? Try not to talk too much, as hard as that may be, and it'll get better." She put the stethoscope away. "Do you remember anything about the last few days?"

He swallowed dryly. "No. Er…who are you?"

"Oh, beg your pardon. We haven't been properly introduced." She reached her hand out to him. "I'm Gillian Wolfe. I've been watching over you these last few days."

He reached out his own hand (why was that so hard?) took a hold of hers and shook it. Once they broke away a memory surfaced from the back of his mind. "Wait…Gillian…yeah, Russ mentioned someone by that name before…" _Oh, shit_. It came back to him in that moment; Jimmy, Noodle, hell, the aconite, curled up on a bed, waiting for the end, and then…nothing. "Uh" he said shakily, "wasn't I…"

"Dying?" Gillian filled in. "I'm afraid so. Don't worry, you're not anymore."

He just looked at her, puzzled. How was that possible? He had been sure he was done for. His gaze shifted to the medical equipment he was surrounded by. "What are you, a doctor?"

"Technically no, but I'm certainly qualified to be one." She sat down beside him. "Let me give you the abridged version of what happened. I'd been keeping an eye on Kong for the last little while, and I happened to be there when you resurfaced from your expedition" she pointed down "down below. I have a bit of experience with these types of poisonings. I was able to create an antidote and get it to you _just_ in time. Then it took some time after that for the aconite to work its way out of your system, so you've been here at my cottage while that's been going on. You were in a _lot_ of pain and out of your head for two days."

"Really?" he asked, taking that in. That sounded pretty typical of a hell based poison; for those who survive it, anyway. "Talk much, did I?"

Again, there was that hesitation. "Mmm, nothing important" she said with that same reassuring smile.

The way she said it didn't quite convince him that he hadn't said something he may have wanted to keep a lid on, but he had a more pressing concern. "My band? Are they…?"

"Don't worry, they're here and they're fine. They've been here the whole time. If you're up for some visitors right now, I could bring them in."

He nodded, and she got up to slip through the door. After a moment, he heard approaching footsteps and caught her saying "Not for very long. He needs to rest." Then, three familiar faces filled the doorway. He gave a half smile and raised his hand in greeting.

Noodle got to him first. "Murdoc? Are you alright?"

"Been better darling" he replied, trying to act nonchalant. As terrible as he felt, and despite that these were his friends, he still hated lying down when everyone else was standing. It made him feel vulnerable. "But I've been told that I was a lot worse," he went on "so…there's that to consider. You?"

The guitarist sat down beside him. "I'm fine, thanks to you. Do you remember anything?"

He shook his head. "Nah. I mean…I remember everything up to getting back to Kong and then…it gets fuzzy."

She put a hand on his arm. "Well, we'll be happy to tell you about it, but I think we'll wait until you're a little better."

He raised a brow. "That bad, huh? Don't want to upset the patient when he's got one toe in the grave, right?"

She merely smiled. "I'm glad you're alright Murdoc."

Hearing that, he let it go and awkwardly patted her knee with his hand. "Thanks love."

She got up and moved away a bit to let Russel come in further. They didn't want to crowd the sick man all at once.

"Russ" Murdoc greeted, holding out a hand.

"Hey Muds" the drummer replied, gripping the extended hand quickly before bringing up a chair to the bed and sitting down. "Man, you scared the shit out of us these last few days. I hope you're happy."

The response to that was a pained chuckle. "Aah, cripes, don't make me laugh, mate" he said as he clutched at his chest. "Besides, I gotta keep you lot on your toes. But I'll try to keep the dying to a minimum from now on, how's that?"

That was meant to be funny, but Russel's eyes ended up clouding over. "Murdoc, I'm sorry. What you went through…I mean…damn…_you_ shouldn't have had to do that…not when it was my fault."

"I think I'm getting a sense of déjà vu" Murdoc replied, trying to make it look like he really had to think about it. "I could've sworn you and I already had this conversation. Didn't I tell you to sod off and that I knew what I was getting into and all that?"

"Yeah, but…like Gillian probably told you, it's been a rough couple of days."

Murdoc attempted to roll his mismatched eyes. "Well, in spite of that, my sentiments on the matter have not changed, so…sod off."

Russel grinned and with a shake of his head he rose from his seat. "Man, for some weird reason, I'm just glad you're still here."

The bassist grinned. "Ditto"

Hobbs moved aside and motioned for 2D to go over, which he did hesitantly. After a moment he came around and sat in the chair Russel had just vacated.

"Alright, mate?" Murdoc asked.

After thinking it over, he answered "Yeah, I think so. You?"

"So I'm told; doesn't feel like it yet, though."

2D fidgeted, thinking of something to say. "You look better."

Niccals scoffed at this; "Liar." He then noticed the bruise between 2Ds eyes. "What happened to you?"

The singer reached up and fingered the dark blue mark. "Oh yeah, um, well I took a swing at a tree with a big stick and ended up smacking myself."

Murdoc stared at 2D for a moment, caught somewhere between disbelief and amusement. Normally, he would've pushed the singer for more details and mocked him mercilessly for something like that, but for some reason he just didn't feel like it right now. Maybe he was still too sick to care. "Well, I can't say I'm surprised, but I-"

Without warning his entire body tensed up as a searing pain shot through his abdomen. He squeezed his eyes shut and arched his back, distantly hearing Gillian's voice telling him to breathe. Then, finally, the pain subsided and he eased back onto the bed, thoroughly nauseous. A couple of deep breaths and he forced his eyes to open again, though his vision was kind of wobbly. Gillian was looming over him, checking him over, and he could see Russel and Noodle behind her, looking wigged out. He couldn't help but wonder if it had been like this the whole time he's been here.

"You're alright" Gillian confirmed after a second. "I imagine there are still some trace elements of aconite, so you may feel some more residual effects, but they'll fade in time."

He closed his eyes, any little bit of energy he had just about gone after that. What made him open his eyes again was the realization that he somehow had a strong grip on 2D's hand. The singer was still in the seat next to the bed, clutching his hand back. Murdoc's first inclination was to pull away, but the look of fear in 2D's black eyes made him reconsider.

_Oh, yeah_, he thought to himself, _definitely still too sick_. "Thanks D" he said quietly, avoiding eye contact, but still catching the smile on his band mate's face with his peripheral vision.

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Gillian had been watching the situation with her patient and his band, and after that last spasm she could see his drooping eyelids and his pale face and she knew he'd reached his limit. "Alright everyone, I hate to break this up but I think Mr. Niccals needs to rest."

The band was good about it. After giving him a few final words of reassurance they cleared out in good time, leaving the healer and her charge alone for the moment.

She attempted to make him more comfortable. "You should get some sleep. I'm afraid you've got a long way to go before you're 100% again."

Though he had his eyes closed, he grinned. "I bounce back pretty quick, love. I'm curious though; what are you, if you're not a doc-?" His eyes opened and, despite his pallor, he turned greener than usual as he tried to bring himself up on his elbows. "I…I think I…"

Gillian either saw it coming or was just quick on the draw, because she had a basin to him just as he began to retch painfully. "Get it out mate" she encouraged, "This is one of the last parts of getting the poison out, and there'll probably be more to come."

Once he finished he sagged back on the bed. "How's that for a first impression?" he asked listlessly "Puking my guts out in front of a cute bird."

She smiled; as ill and generally reprehensible as he was he was still quite the charmer. "Believe me, I've seen far worse. And I'm sure I'm not the first woman to see you do it." In the time it took her to set the basin aside and turn back to him he had already fallen back asleep. She pulled the sheets up around him and left to wash the basin out in the med room and then give the band an update.

* * *

So I hope that gives you a taste of the warm fuzzies. More coming.


	21. Chapter 21

Hello again. Sorry for the delay. Things have been busy, plus I've been agonizing over some plot points. Anyway, this should set things up nicely. Enjoy.

* * *

Over the next couple of days a pattern seemed to be forming with the patient's symptoms. When he didn't have a high temperature he was throwing up, and when he wasn't throwing up he ran a temperature. His body appeared to be alternating between how it wanted to expunge the last of the poison, either by sweating it out or regurgitating it. His fevers were intermittent, and over that time they eventually became less frequent, but while that symptom improved his stomach was still finicky about what could be put in it.

During those days everyone noticed a change in Murdoc. It came on subtly, and it took awhile for the others to clue into it. Over their years together his band had seen him when he's been in the care of medical professionals, so they were prepared for that same reaction here; for him to be pissed and moody, uncooperative, impatient and generally difficult. It's what they were used to, what they could call him on and what they could handle. Noodle and Russel had given Gillian plenty of warning, and they hunkered down for the worse.

But that didn't happen here. Instead of vocalizing his discomfort, like they expected him to, he became withdrawn and distant; most of the time he didn't even talk unless someone spoke to him first. When he did speak he would make some small attempt at humor, like when Gillian offered to clean him up and he made a smart remark about her wanting to get him naked (to which she pointed out that anyone with a telly or a computer has likely already seen him naked, so the novelty had worn off some). But mostly he would stay silent. He slept nearly all of the time, due to sheer exhaustion, but when he wasn't asleep he would often lie in his bed and just stare, his eyes taking on a remote and haunted look.

Naturally this was very disconcerting to everyone who knew him well. Gillian reminded them that he was lucky to survive what he had gone through, and it had been a lot to overcome on his end, so she wasn't all that concerned with his reaction.

"He's a forty-something year old man who's had a number of brushes with death this last week and pretty much spent days under torture and is still sick as a dog" she said to them one morning while she worked in her kitchen. Noodle, Russel and 2D sat or stood around her while Murdoc was asleep in his room. "I mean, that is a lot to handle, even for someone who claims to be as thick skinned as he is. And besides, if my throat were as raw as his is right now from the screaming and now from vomiting, I wouldn't be too eager to talk myself."

"But Gillian" Noodle explained. "This is just…so unlike him. And we don't know what's normal after something like this."

"When he's not sleeping he just lays there" Russel went on. "And he's far too cooperative, it's like..." he struggled to find a way to explain it.

"Would you rather that he act the way you expected him to?" Gillian asked. "Would you rather deal with the bullying, self-centered, ridiculously childish person you know so well after all the crap we went through these last few days?"

"Er…no" 2D replied.

Gillian rolled her eyes but smiled; "Rhetorical question, mate." He just scratched his head.

Noodle pursed her lips. "Regardless, what's happening now just isn't right. There's something wrong."

"It's like…the fight's gone out of him" Russel said, finally finding a way to explain his concerns.

"That's it exactly" Noodle agreed.

The healer considered this. "Fair enough," she finally said, "But…those few days he spent marching through hell and then surviving the poison…I'm willing to bet that he fought harder than he probably ever has in his entire life. Wouldn't _you_ want to lay down your arms for a while after all that?"

Another tense pause came from the band. "Look" she went on. "I understand, and you know him far better than I do, but from my experience people come back from this in different ways, and there could be a number of things affecting him right now; this is probably the most ill and exhausted he's ever been. His age may be a factor; the older you get the harder it is to bounce back. The last traces of the aconite may be disturbing him mentally. He may even remember more about the last few days than he's letting on. I don't know. It's still early, and all we can do is wait and see." The whole 'wait and see' plan was starting to become bothersome to the three musicians, but none of them could think of a better idea.

A speck of light that was becoming all to familiar suddenly flew in, swishing past 2Ds ear and startling him to the point that he tripped over his own feet and landed on the floor. After they threw him a quick glance to make sure he was alright Russel and Noodle barely batted an eye; apparently this was a common occurrence.

"Hello Steren, what's the good word?" Gillian greeted her visitor, trying not to laugh at the sprawled singer.

The sprite landed on the countertop. "No good words I'm afraid. The lockdown in hell has ended."

Gillian froze. "Since when?"

"It was lifted yesterday I hear. The buzz has been growing since then and it finally got back to me today."

After another frozen moment, Gillian knocked her spoon against the counter in frustration. "Damn."

"Is this bad?" Russel asked.

"It could be. Some of the residents down there could be carrying some major grudges after what happened, and now that they can walk the earth again they may come looking for us." She sighed. "I had hoped that the lockdown would last for a few days longer, at least until Niccals is strong enough to move if we have to, but I don't think he can even stand right now, at least not for very long." She bit her lip as she thought this over.

"What should we do?" 2D asked after pulling himself off the floor using the counter's edge.

Noodle got into strategy mode. "We can stay on alert, like we did with Paula" she suggested. "Make sure we're well armed and keep an eye out for any trouble."

Eventually, Gillian shook her head. "No, I'm not going to sit here and wait for trouble to find us. We're not doing that again. It's time to take some initiative." She made her way to her weapons cabinet; "Steren can you stick around here at the cottage and keep an eye on the patient for a while?"

"Yeah sure" the sprite replied. "I could use the time to rest my wings a bit." She stretched them both out to illustrate her point.

"Wait, what's going on? What's the plan?" Russel asked.

Gillian pulled out a broad sword from the cabinet. "I'm going to make some calls and then I need one or two stout people to accompany me. We're going hunting, and there's only one place nearby where we can get some first-hand exposure from the netherworld."

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The rain was back, coming down in a never ending, depressing pour, washing out the colors of the landscape, the gray clouds moving in a funeral march overhead. That should've been the first sign that the lockdown had ended. They had all been so distracted they had barely noticed there had been some nice days weather-wise, completely out of character for the location. But things were certainly back to normal now.

Past the graveyard they moved quickly to the base of the hill where what remained of Kong Studios stood waiting at the top. The climb was particularly difficult today, as the rain made the hillside slick and treacherous. Any road that had once been there had long since deteriorated, so they had to make due. The chill and fog in the air didn't help either.

In the darkened front lobby, with the holes in the wall and ceiling letting in the aforementioned chill, the first figure pulled off the hood of her rain poncho. Gillian surveyed the area, keeping a hand on her sword and looking for any problems that need immediate handling. Aside from the rain pelting the walls outside, there was silence.

A second figure came in, also armed with a sword, and pulled off her hood. Noodle took it all in, marveling at how it looked even more decrepit in the few days since they'd been there. She realized that if they ever decided to come back here and make music again they may end up having to rebuild the whole studio from the ground up.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Noodle asked, not for the first time.

"Of course not" Gillian replied, "but I think we need to nip this in the bud, and I haven't heard any other plans."

"But we shouldn't have left them alone in the cottage, if there's a chance someone could come after us again."

Gillian took a few steps in. "First of all, you already mentioned that. Secondly, what do you take me for? And thirdly, I've got it covered."

Noodle looked over at her sharply. This was news to her. "What? Why didn't you say anything-?"

"Shhh" Gillian held a finger to her lips and gestured to the remains of the walls. Noodle understood and stopped talking. Just because they didn't see or hear anyone didn't mean they weren't alone, and if this was some grandiose, covert plan Gillian had cooked up they certainly didn't want the enemy (whoever or whatever that was) to know.

A splash of water, a cry of distress and a thud drew their attention back to the entrance. A soaked bundle of rain poncho slid into the lobby on a trail of wet marble floor, past Gillian and Noodle, and came to a less than graceful stop by landing against the far wall.

The girls laughed a bit. "Nice entrance Blue" Gillian chuckled, "very dramatic."

The bundle untangled himself and stood up, a hand reaching up to pull the twisted hood off. "I still don't see why I had to come along" 2D said as he rubbed his banged knees and elbows and shook the water out of his blue hair. "I mean, why couldn't I stay at the cottage with Russ and Steren and keep an eye on Murdoc?"

"Because we don't know what we're getting into, and having three people here is better than two" Gillian explained. "And Steren is more than capable of watching over Mr. Niccals, she only needs a set of hands to assist her, and Mr. Hobbs can do that. Besides, you showed some talent with a staff the other day, so I thought you might like a little more practice. By the way" she looked around "where is the staff?"

He and Noodle looked around as well, before the guitarist found it right where he had dropped it, just outside the entrance, and handed it back to him.

Satisfied that everyone was sufficiently armed and in one piece Gillian led them further inside. "Now, we need to find a way back to the lowest level. We'll see what's going on down there and hopefully we won't have too much trouble. Let's keep this just a reconnaissance mission if we can help it."

No sooner did the words leave her mouth they heard a sound, a rustling somewhere in the shadows. Keeping silent, Gillian gestured 2D to get behind her and Noodle to come around the other side. Swords drawn and at the ready, they approached the darkened corner as another noise betrayed the figure lurking in the darkness.

* * *

I know, I know. Cliffhangers suck. But, like always, keep an eye out for the next entry.


	22. Chapter 22

Hello all. I'm sick this weekend...again...seriously, I've been sick off and on all winter, this is getting stupid. Anyway, with nothing better to do I banged off a couple of chapters. I'd been having writers block all week, but apparently a cold will help fix that, as you will see.

* * *

Russel sat in Murdoc's room, keeping watch while the bassist slept. His mind was wandering by this point, as he watched the rain drum against the windows. It had been quiet since Gillian had left for Kong, taking Noodle and 2D with her. Steren had stuck around, and she had fluttered in and out of the room every now and then, checking things over. It was funny watching something so small handle equipment much larger than her, but she did fine on her own. Still, she wasn't much of a conversationalist; Russel even got the impression she was a little stuck up. So, with the only two other beings in the house either passed out or giving him the cold shoulder, Russel was alone with his thoughts, and he found more than anything else he was nursing his guilt over everything that had happened, with Noodle's incarceration in hell and Murdoc nearly dying and then suffering the way he did in order to survive.

Knowing this self-reprimanding wasn't doing anybody any good, he tried to push it aside and moved his gaze back to Niccals. Russ had come to the conclusion that Murdoc had never looked worse than he had these last few days. Not even when he was slobbering drunk, or high as a kite, or jacked up on black magick, or even coming down from all that, he never looked as bad as he had since this dose of poison. He had definitely lost weight, and he didn't have that much to loose in the first place. He still had the faintest traces of black veins in his face and arms, and probably elsewhere. He had fresh lines on his face, making him look older. The bassist had never been this listless either. Even in past occurrences when he had partied so hard he couldn't even stand up, he always had a reserve of energy, a fire that got him through, but now it was gone. Hobbs was still convinced that something was going on in that twisted mind of his. He'd been too unpredictable these past couple days, acting totally out of character.

But, Russ knew that despite his concerns, and as much as it was racking his brain, they just couldn't push it yet, so he sighed and looked back at the rain outside.

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Gillian and Noodle approached the darkened space with swords at the ready. 2D had even raised his staff, just in case he needed to strike.

They were all surprised by the completely normal Scottish voice that came out of the shadows. "You know, you should be careful with something that sharp, you'll put your eye out."

While the band members were stunned by that, they were even more shocked by Gillian's reaction. "Oh for God's sake Callum!" she shouted as she lowered her sword. "Get your arse out here now!"

A tall, dark haired man in a brown trench coat emerged from the shadows wearing a very large grin. He appeared to be about the same age as Gillian or 2D, and his demeanor was bright and pleasant.

So as reassured as the musicians were, however, Gillian was not having it. "You scared the hell out of us, you Scot bastard! We could've killed you!"

He was still grinning. "Ah come now, what's life without a little mystery, yes?"

"How did you get here, anyway?" Gillian asked.

He shrugged. "Portal." Neither Noodle or 2D had any idea what that meant, but Gillian seemed to, because she kept going.

"Does Lil know you're here?"

"Of course, she suggested it."

She gestured to where he had just emerged from. "What were you doing hiding in the shadows?"

"Well you never know what's lurking about, I thought I should stay out of sight."

She put a hand over her eyes. "When I called you I just told you to stay near a phone. I've got my cell, I was going to call you back if we needed your services."

Again, he shrugged. "Well I decided to come in person; I figured I could assist you better that way."

She took the hand back off her face and started flailing it around as her anger grew. "What are you, completely soft in the head? Are you aware of how dangerous this could be? I thought I'd made that clear, and I can't have you popping up out of nowhere looking for a fight."

"Gillian" Noodle interjected. She had lowered her own sword by this point, and thought she'd better curb this little argument before they went on like this much longer. "Who is this person?"

The healer pursed her lips together in annoyance. "My apologies; this is Callum Macleod, and I'm sorry to say he's my brother-in-law. Callum, this is-"

"Oh, no need for introductions" he said jovially as he came around and shook their hands in turn. "You're Noodle and you're 2D. I'm a very big fan. I think _Feel Good Inc._ is probably my favorite song of all time."

"Er, thanks mate" 2D replied, still clearly confused but trying to be polite. You always had to please the fans.

"For heaven's sake, is that why you came?" Gillian asked him. "You wanted to meet them in person?"

"One of the reasons" Callum confirmed. "But…come on, Lil worries about you, and so do I, and this could be intense. We thought I should come out and give you a hand. It could go a lot smoother that way."

After a moment, Gillian softened. "You're an idiot, but you're good people. Alright everyone, let's get this party started," she turned back to her brother-in-law, "unless you've brought friends that are hiding behind the ruble."

He shook his head, smiling, and they drew their attention back to their mission.

As they worked through the decimated hallway of the ground floor Callum and 2D chatted about the band, while Noodle had some questions for Gillian about the newcomer. "Is he married to your sister?"

"Yes he is" Gillian confirmed as they made their way over the rubble to the car park. "They've been married for about three years now. Lillian's pregnant with their first child."

"Oh, that's great, you'll be an aunt", then something she'd said caught her attention. "Wait, 'Gillian' and 'Lillian'?"

The healer grimaced. "Yes, we're twins and our parents thought it would be clever to give us rhyming names."

Noodle stifled a laugh. "Where do your sister and her husband live?"

"Up north, near Newcastle."

"Then how did he get here so fast?"

Gillian forced open the door to the car park. "We have friends who can bend space and time."

The guitarist couldn't tell if that was a joke or not, but her guess was probably not, considering the lifestyle these people led.

They walked through the car park, passing the abandoned Winnebago and Geep. "This building always gives me the creeps" Gillian said. "You never know what you'll find, or what's going to find _you_. I don't know how you lot managed to live here."

"You get used to it" 2D shrugged.

The flashing light in the distance helped lead them to the entrance of the elevator shaft. Everyone managed to squeeze onto the cart, and Noodle pressed the button for them to slowly descend deeper into the very lowest region of the studio.

"This is fun, isn't it?" Callum asked as they rode down. "I hardly ever get to do this kind of thing."

"And it is those two statements that made me decide not to bring you along" Gillian pointed out.

"You'll be happy I did Gilly, don't worry."

"What do you and your wife do?" Noodle asked Callum.

"Well, like Gilly here, Lil works her tail off for the tribe and what they do for queen and country, though not so much for the time being, now that we're expecting."

"Expecting what?" 2D asked.

"They're going to have a baby" Noodle explained.

"Really?" He turned back to Callum "that's great mate."

"And yet another reason why I didn't ask you to come along" Gillian pointed out.

Callum rolled his eyes. "Oh, give it a rest love. What's done is done."

Changing the subject, Noodle asked. "Is Lil a healer too?"

"No she's not" Gillian replied. "Basically, she's an occult topographer."

Once again, 2D looked confused. "A what?" By this point, the cart had reached the bottom with a jolt. Hopping off, the four of them began to make their way through the hallways of the bunker, the electric lighting thankfully still working so they could see where they were going and avoid the rubbish strewn about.

"Lil uses the assistance of mages and other magical beings to map out the pockets of supernatural activity all over the British Isles" Callum went on. "She's an expert in the field. Even the sprites we're allied with use her services. She and her team have noticed the activity around here lately." He looked over at Gillian. "That's one of the reasons she's so worried about you."

Before she could answer, they found themselves in front of the boiler room. They glanced at each other and steeled themselves for a moment before Gillian drew her sword, took a hold of the door and carefully moved it open. The room itself was dark and damp, the equipment somehow still humming away, but on the other side they saw the doorway, and through that the posted sign, 'Level 0', and the arrow pointing down the stairs. The soft orange glow that came from the stairway confirmed their fears. The mouth was open again.

* * *

DUN, DUN, DUUUUUUUN! What do you think? I hope I got Kong just right with my descriptions. I walked through it on the band's website to be sure, which is always a lot of fun, but that place really is creepy.


	23. Chapter 23

Like I said before, sick this weekend, had time to write. This chapter is a bit Murdoc-centric, with lots of angst, but I'm hoping I stayed true to the characters, because that's important to me. Read on and tell me what you think.

* * *

Russel hadn't even realized he had fallen asleep in his chair until he was awakened by someone's voice.

"No…no…please…I can't…"

He shook the drowsiness off, remembering where he was and saw that Murdoc was talking in his sleep, apparently in the grip of a nightmare. Russel stood up and came closer so he could take his band mate by the arm and try to rouse him.

"Murdoc, wake up man, you're dreaming." Once he touched him he could feel how cold and clammy his skin was. By contrast he raised his hand to the bassist's brow and felt nothing but heat. "Shit." That meant the fever was back.

As Russel shouted down the hall for Steren, the sound woke Murdoc with a start. Darting his eyes around the room he quickly relaxed as he realized where he was, but was still clearly a little on edge. Steren zoomed in and zipped around him as she checked him over, and he fought the urge to swat her away. Russel had to keep from laughing as he saw the displeasure and annoyance on Murdoc's face as the fairy fluttered all over.

Steren moved away and came by Russel's ear. "Get him some water and try to get him back to sleep. That last part may be harder than you think." And she flew off before he could say any more, or ask what she meant by that.

He made his way to the pitcher of water on the dresser and poured a glass for Murdoc. "You alright Muds?"

"'Course" he answered hoarsely. "Just the brain playing tricks on me, that's all."

Russel bit back the urge to ask what the dream was about or to point out that Murdoc was shivering. Like he had decided before he wasn't going to push it yet. Instead he brought the water over to him and helped him sit up a little so he could drink it, which Niccals allowed him to do without any fuss. "Drink this down, it'll help."

Once he'd finished the offered glass of water Murdoc lay back down and gave a bit of his oily smile. "You wouldn't have anything stronger than that, would you?"

Russel looked at him incredulously. "First of all, you've met Gillian; does she strike you as the type of person who would keep that stuff around here?"

"Fair point" Murdoc conceded.

"And secondly, do you think booze is really the thing to cure what ails you right now?"

He raised his shoulders a bit on the pillow in a shrug. "Usually does. Well, if we don't have that, how about a fag?"

Not bothering to dignify that with a response, Russel busied himself with placing the glass back on the dresser.

"Where's the rest of the Scooby gang?" Murdoc asked.

Russel turned back to his chair to sit down. "Gillian took Noodle and 2D over to Kong. They'll be back soon."

Murdoc scoffed a bit. "Trying to see if anything's salvageable, eh? Do a little search and rescue? That place is falling apart; I doubt they'll find anything."

The drummer hesitated, wondering how much to tell him. "Actually Muds, they're doing a little reconnaissance, as Gillian put it."

Niccals turned to him. "Why?"

"Because…we've heard that the lockdown in hell has ended, and they've headed over to the mouth to see if it's opened up again."

To the casual observer it would've been an interesting examination of facial expressions to watch Murdoc's face change in those few seconds. First it was incomprehension, then realization, then he went even paler and then it was nothing short of panic; something Russel was not used to seeing in him, and it alarmed him greatly.

Once the face had set, the hyperventilating began. "What?…What?...I…I…"

"Whoa, whoa, Muds, take it easy." Russel didn't know the physical details right now, but he knew this reaction just could not be good for the bassist in his weakened state. But he wasn't sure how to stop it. "Calm down, you're alright." That didn't seem to do any good, as Murdoc managed to sit up and probably would've done more if Russel hadn't sat on the bed with him. "Murdoc come on, look at me, breathe man." Finally, drawing on his own experiences of when people have had to calm _him_ down, he reached out and put a hand on each side of Murdoc's face and turned until they were eye to eye. "Look at me, breathe, breathe Muds, calm down, you're alright, you're okay, everything's gonna be fine, stay with me."

At that moment, as they looked at each other, the shield Murdoc wears unexpectedly dropped, and Russel got an exclusive look at what was really going on. Hobbs remembered the expression 'bone weary', and that was the only way he could describe it as he looked at his band mate. He saw now that Murdoc was completely exhausted, but it wasn't just physical; that part had always been plain in his dark circled eyes and his pale and drawn face. Now Russ could see that he was beyond exhausted in his heart and soul; that he was so fatigued his defenses were down, he wasn't thinking clearly, and he felt vulnerable because of it, hence the panic. Russel wasn't surprised he hadn't seen it before; the bassist was so guarded, and it was sometimes hard to remember that Murdoc Niccals even _had_ a heart or a soul. But here at this moment the usually unflappable rock star just looked so…lost.

Niccals got his breathing under control and realized how exposed he actually was to his drummer. He carefully pulled away from Russel's grasp, but abruptly slumped sideways, catching himself on one elbow. Russel reached his hands out to him but then retracted them and sat still, having absolutely no idea what to do here. He wasn't sure if he should reach out and offer comfort, or if he should leave him alone.

"I'm tired Russ" Murdoc said quietly after a moment. "I'm just…I'm so tired."

It was both an admission and an excuse, Russel realized, but the fact that he was even admitting it, and how he said it, spoke volumes about where this experience had left him, and what the aconite had put him through.

After another moment of indecision Russl settled for placing a hand on Murdoc's shoulder, and was encouraged when he didn't pull away. They sat that way for a few minutes.

"I know you're tired Muds" Russel finally said. "You've got every right to be. But…this too will pass. And…as hard a concept as it is for you to grasp, you're not alone in this. You came through for us, so…now it's time to let us come through for you. You don't have to fight so hard now. We're not going anywhere." He wasn't sure if he had said the right thing, or maybe Murdoc was just too tired to really get what was happening, but the bassist looked up at his band mate with questioning eyes, and Russel nodded to him, confirming what he had said. They had him covered.

"Lets get you laid back down and cool you off a bit", and he carefully took Murdoc's other shoulder and guided him back onto the bed. The drummer grabbed the washcloth and soaked it into the bowl of water Gillian had left. Murdoc silently watched him, that trace of uncertainty still in his eyes. Russel folded the damp cloth and pressed it against Murdoc's brow before laying it across his mismatched eyes, feeling a sense of satisfaction as the tension visibly drained from the sick man.

"Get some sleep Muds" Russel reassured him. "I'll be here. Go back to sleep." He sat there until Murdoc's breathing evened out, and then moved back onto his armchair, breathed a sigh of relief and settled in, ready to wait it out.

****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Just before he drifted off, Murdoc had another moment of clarity under the washcloth, similar to the one he'd had in hell. All his life he'd always had to fight, to fend for himself or defend himself, because no one else would; not his father, not his brother, certainly not the mother he'd never met. For perhaps the first time, he actually felt like he could let go, maybe let someone else take the reigns for a while. But that required trust, and he was never very good at giving that. But here…with these people…maybe. It was such a foreign feeling to him, but even so he still managed to fall back asleep right about then, leaving this all for another time when he was better able to deal.

* * *

Another scene meant to inspire the warm fuzzies. More coming on the whole expedition to Kong, so stay tuned.


	24. Chapter 24

Hi all. It's been a little while, I know. I've been busy with work and Easter and life in general. Plus, that damn writer's block kept rearing its ugly head, so I took a bit of a break this week and worked on a little short story. But enought about me. What's going on in Kong?

* * *

All four of them stood midway down the stairs for a moment. The room looked just the same to the band members, with some equipment tucked in one corner, rubbish all about (much like the landfill outside there was everything from children's toys to car parts to old bones), a conspicuous digital clock counting down to God knows what and beneath that an inscription on the wall written in red; _FIRE COMING OUT OF THE MONKEYS HEAD._ Right in the middle, taking up most of the floor, was the large round crater with its otherworldly orange glow.

_Well, this is just peachy_ Gillian thought to herself. Still, at least nothing seemed to be waiting for them…that they could see, anyway. There were definitely places to hide down here.

"Alright, it's open" 2D said nervously. "Can we go back up now?"

"Not just yet" Gillian replied, bringing up her sword. "Let's go down and make sure nothing's waiting for us to show our pretty faces. Callum, stay behind me. Mr. Pot, stay behind him and keep your staff at the ready. Miss Noodle, would you be so kind as to take up the rear?" Once in position they started their climb down the rest of the stairs.

"Things seem pretty quiet" Callum commented. Gillian said nothing; she just couldn't shake the feeling that something was lurking. She wondered if she was just nervous. Her team was not ideal after all; Noodle could take whatever was coming, but Callum couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag and Pot, while he had shown some talent under duress, was largely untested. Hoping she was just being paranoid, but knowing better than that, she gripped the hilt of sword tightly and kept going.

Each of them touched down on terra firma from the stairs and at Gillian's direction began to walk around the mouth, 2D and Noodle on one side, Gillian and Callum on the other, giving it a wide berth of about five feet. Basically, Gillian just wanted to see if their presence would illicit any kind of response from the underworld. Once each team made it around to the other side they stood together and waited. Nothing happened.

"Anybody feel anything? Hear anything?" Gillian asked.

Noodle shook her head; "Nothing."

"Does that mean we're in the clear?" Callum asked.

"I don't know" Gillian said as she looked around again; "Seems that way."

2D let out an audible sigh of relief. "Brilliant." He started to move closer to the mouth. "I mean, everything looks the same-"

As he set his foot down a flash of light spat from the opening, accompanied by a shudder moving through the ground, making Gillian and Noodle bring their swords up again. "What the fuck?" the singer exclaimed.

_Alright_ Gillian thought, _apparently you need to be closer than five feet_. "Get back lad" she said as she grabbed 2D by his shirt and moved him away from the mouth.

"What was that?" he asked, clearly startled that his foot could cause that kind of ruckus. "Whatever it was, it wasn't me."

"We know" Noodle reassured. "What do you think that was?" she asked Gillian; "Some kind of booby trap?"

"More like a motion sensor" Gillian guessed. "I'll wager something down there knows we're here. Stand at the ready everyone. Callum stay behind me."

The mouth was changing now, the orange gathering itself around its edges as a black hole formed within it. Something was most certainly coming through. Everyone waited with baited breath.

Finally, a figure emerged, coming up from the opening and landing near the quartet. At first glance it appeared to be a tall, lanky man in a dark blue pinstripe suit. But once the being faced them, they could see the grey skin, heavy scars and eyes of fire, and there was a moment of fear.

"We were beginning to wonder when you would return" the creature said in a smooth, perfectly calm voice.

Noodle raised her sword and made to lunge at the newcomer, but was blocked by Gillian. The guitarist was about to protest when the healer cut her off with a sentence in the same language she had used before with Steren. Before Noodle could ask what she had said Gillian had already turned her attention back to Callum. "You wanted to be here for the action. Go do what you do, I'll cover you."

Callum swallowed before approaching this hellish being. He took a moment to steel himself before giving the suited man a confident grin. "I'm Callum Macleod, attorney at law. I'm here to represent Mr. Niccals. To whom am I addressing?"

Jaws dropped for both Noodle and 2D. "He's a lawyer" Noodle whispered to Gillian.

"He is" Gillian whispered back. "For legal issues worldly and otherwise. Stay quiet, and we'll see how this goes."

The representative of hell had taken that moment to look Callum over, and was decidedly unimpressed. "I assume you are representing Mr. Niccals posthumously, or else he would've arrived here himself to tie up the loose ends."

"I assure you Mr. Niccals is alive and well," Callum explained, though using the term 'well', Gillian thought, was pushing it. Still, this is not a situation you can show weakness, and he continued. "He's merely unavailable for the final details. I will stand in his stead."

The blue suited figure raised a mangled eyebrow. "He survived the poisoning then? We had been notified of his death and had waited for his soul to arrive in purgatory, where we could conduct this business, but when it didn't make an appearance we guessed he had lost his nerve and chosen to roam the earth as a spirit rather than deal with us. He must have been revived with some sort of antidote. He's always surprising us…no more so that a week ago."

"Yes, he's a character" Callum agreed. "You haven't answered my question yet."

The creature gave a faint smile. "I am Warrick; I am one of many legal aides to the great tribunal. They feel that the business concerning Mr. Niccals last visit was left unfinished and they put me on alert to close the issue whenever someone chose to show their face here."

"Well, the time is now."

Warrick still looked unimpressed. He glanced around Callum at the other three. "I recognize the two musicians; members of Mr. Niccals band, not under contract with us. Who is the woman?"

"Gillian Wolfe" she replied calmly and stepped forward. "I and Mr. Macleod are both members of the O'Dare clan."

Finally Warrick looked intrigued, though ever so slightly; "A very ancient line."

Gillian grinned. "Yes, I'm sure you know that our people have dealt with your people before."

"And I'm willing to guess that if an antidote was used, he received it from you. What is the clan's connection to the band?" Warrick asked.

Gillian shrugged. "Our paths crossed, and we're involved now."

"With all due respect" Callum interrupted, "we're wasting time here. All we want is to find out where this situation stands with the tribunal."

Warrick paused before extending his hand to the side and producing a cloud of smoke, from which materialized a set of forms. _Dramatic_ Noodle thought. She had decided it was best to keep quiet through all of this, rather than risk rocking the boat and hurting their chances. She didn't have to worry about 2D saying anything, as he was standing behind her and gripping his staff anxiously, seemingly trying to shrink into himself.

"Despite the underhanded nature of the administration of the aconite" Warrick began, reading off the form, "the result is still perfectly legal under the laws of hell. The case against Mr. Hobbs and any other member of the band known as Gorillaz is officially dropped."

"Aye, but that's only the official stance" Callum pointed out. "What about unofficially? It's my understanding that Mr. Niccals pissed off quite a few people down there. Our main concern is that there will still be retribution even if the matter has been settled, if not from a designated official then from some vigilante."

"Mr. Niccals is still under contract. He will be protected from any backlash from the underworld."

"And the rest of band?"

Warrick was starting to look annoyed at being constantly interrupted. "They are also under protection due to Clementia Divinus. Mr. Niccals did technically die after giving the ultimate sacrifice, so the pound of flesh has been paid and the act is binding." He folded his arms and somehow looked even scarier that before. "And if you need further assurance let me just say that the consequences are dire for any of our citizens who would violate the legal protection of our offices."

That statement held a special resonance for Noodle, as it brought to mind something Murdoc had said to her back in hell, as he lay dying on the arena floor. _Let's just say the consequences are dire for anyone who would make that kind of infraction on a notarized contract. Jimmy is seriously fucked._ Remembering that convinced her that Warrick's declaration was completely truthful.

Callum was convinced as well. "Fair enough; so to summarize the charges are dropped, Mr. Niccals is still under his original contract, and no one is going to leap out at them in a darkened alley."

Warrick raised an eyebrow again. "Well, I can't promise the last part but I can tell you the attacker won't be someone from hell."

"Also fair" Callum grinned.

The hellish representative offered the forms to the lawyer. "All of this is available for your perusal." Callum took the forms and looked them over while Gillian continued to flank him. She knew Warrick had seen the weapons, and if he was familiar with their clan he knew she wouldn't hesitate to use them.

"Oi" 2D whispered to Noodle; "I don't know much about this kind of thing, but are we really taking this bloke at his word. I mean, he is from hell, he's probably lying."

She grinned. "Liars are sentenced in hell, they don't run it. He's telling the truth." 2D looked unconvinced, but she suspected that he just didn't grasp the concept of the just ruling in hell.

After a moment Callum nodded his approval. "Airtight…not that I'd expect anything less. Do we seal this the old fashioned way?"

The corners of Warrick's mouth turned up ever so slightly. "We do." And he extended his hand again, only this time the item that emerged from the smoke was a small, jagged dagger. Noodle again raised her sword but Gillian waved at her to stay back.

Callum very calmly removed his coat, tossing it off to the side. He then rolled up the sleeve of his left arm, took the dagger from Warrick's outstretched hand and quickly sliced a small opening in his forearm. He held the gash over the forms, leaving a mark of blood on the paper. Handing the forms and dagger back to Warrick the representative sliced open his palm and left his own mark on the forms.

"Sealed with blood" Callum lamented as he pulled a handkerchief from his shirt pocket and used it to stem his bleeding forearm. "Hell is always a stickler for tradition, yes?"

The dagger faded into smoke again, and then into nothing. "There is always a place for tradition." Warrick mused. "Regardless, it's done." He folded the documents and placed them in the breast pocket of his suit, before unexpectedly turning to Noodle. "I should congratulate you on your release from the underworld. I was not involved in your case, but we've all been watching with interest. You have your freedom and are now officially under the protection of hell, thanks to your band mate."

Despite her early plan to keep silent, Noodle had a response that needed to be said. "I suppose I should be thankful for the treatment I received while my case was appealed…even though I wouldn't be there in the first place and my band mate would not have had to risk his life had I not been forcibly taken for a crime I didn't commit." She didn't flinch as she met the burning eyes that now bore into her. But in the end Warrick decided this was not worth his time, and merely smiled.

"A pleasure as always;" he said to Callum and Gillian. "I have always enjoyed doing business with the O'Dare's and their descendents. I doubt this will be the last time I do."

Gillian sighed. "No" she said with a bit of resignation. "Probably not."

With a curt nod, Warrick evaporated into smoke and filtered back through the opening. The blackness then shrunk in on itself until only the orange glow remained in the mouth to hell.

****************************************************************************************************************************************************

They climbed back up the stairs, through the boiler room, then the bunker, and rode the elevator back up to the car park before 2D asked "So…nothing's going to happen then?"

"Looks that way" Callum said cheerfully, still with the handkerchief tied around his forearm, his coat over his other arm. "At least officially; no one can promise that a demon won't act on its own. But the fact that they'd be violating an official decree extremely lowers the likelihood that will happen."

Gillian was still on alert as they walked back through the crumbling car park. "We'll keep an eye on the situation, but it looks like we were able to resolve it, and I'm glad that we're all alright." She smiled at Callum. "You were right, I am happy you came. Thanks for coming along. You did great."

He shrugged. "It's what I do."

"Will there be any problems with using your blood to seal the issue?" Noodle asked him. "We don't want you to be on the hook for something we did."

"Nah, for a form like that the gesture is mostly for show. I looked the documents over thoroughly, and the blood is basically like signing for a package. Doesn't matter who signs, as long as the message gets passed on."

Noodle smiled humorously. "It's funny how hell's legal system works."

"You're telling us" Callum replied.

The guitarist turned to Gillian. "What did you say to me down there, when I made to lunge at Warrick?"

"Oh sorry" she replied, "that's an old saying in our clan, and we usually only say it in Cornish. Basically, the translation goes 'Don't take the head off the messenger before you hear the message.'"

"Sound advice" Noodle conceded. "But how could you know he was merely a messenger and not a threat?"

Gillian gave her the look that said _you have to ask?_ "He was wearing a suit. You were in hell for two years, how many souls or demons did you see wearing suits?"

After a moment the light bulb lit up. "Only a handful of officials." She shook her head as she realized she should've seen that.

"Still" 2D put in. "We go to all that trouble, I get all wigged out, and then nothing hap-" The large creaking noise that cut him off made everyone stop and look. And then the singer was falling as the floor beneath him gave way. The others rushed to him, and watched in amazement as he managed to maneuver the staff so each end caught the edges of the newly formed hole in the floor and he dangled from its center, stopping his fall.

The other three crouched down around the opening. "Whoa, nice catch Blue" Gillian said, grinning broadly.

2D looked up from where he was hanging, looking just as amazed as everyone else, but happy. "Yeah…not bad, eh?"

Both Gillian and Callum reached out to him. "Take our hands," she instructed, "we'll pull you up."

Before he could reach up one of the edges of the hole gave out, and he fell the rest of the way into darkness.

"Damn it" Gillian exclaimed.

"2D!" Noodle called out, clearly worried. "Are you alright?!"

After a pause they heard. "Yeah…I think so! The staff landed on me head though!"

Both Gillian and Noodle chuckled, and Callum shook his head, grinning. "He's got the worst luck, doesn't he?" Gillian said, smiling. "What's down there again?" she asked the guitarist.

Noodle thought for a second. "Under the car park…that'll be 2D's old bedroom. We should be able to get down there pretty easily."

"Alright" Gillian turned back to the dark hole. "Hang tight mate, we're coming down to get you!"

What they heard from the singer surprised them. "Whoa…you guys have got to see this!"

* * *

I wanted to get back into the legalese a little bit while building some tension. I hope I pulled it off convincingly. What do we think?

Only a few chapters left to go, just to forewarn you. Stay tuned.


	25. Chapter 25

So what did they find? Have we waited long enough? I think this is the longest chapter I've written yet, so brace yourselves.

* * *

Noodle carefully guided Callum and Gillian down one of the crumbling stairwells that led from the ground floor to the basement. After pushing a few doors open they passed the back end and made their way to what had been 2D's bedroom. The corridor was fairly dark, with most of the light bulbs burnt out, and the few that still worked gave the place an eerie feel.

"Talk to us Mr. Pot, where are you?!" Gillian called out.

"I'm in here!" he called back from behind the door at the end of the hall. "I think I sprained something, but you've got to see this first!"

Noodle grabbed the knob and found that unlike most of the doors in the place it opened easily. What they found was a lit room that should have been empty but clearly was not.

"I found the light switch." 2D announced as he made his way over to them with a bit of a limp. "Just look at all of this, I didn't know we still had this here." He pointed up to the ceiling. "You can see the hole I fell through, it's huge."

They were still taking everything in, because there was quite a bit to take in. There were instrument cases packed up against the walls, as well as sound equipment, microphones and just about everything you'd need to make an album.

"What on earth?" Noodle asked breathlessly.

While Gillian was curious as to what all of this was, her professional instincts took precedent. "You're limping" she said to 2D. "Sit down and let me look."

She examined him while the other two surveyed the room. Callum took a look at the hole in the ceiling. Whatever was tearing this place apart had managed to eat through the reinforced concrete of the car park and weakened it to the point that one person had been too much to hold up. He realized the singer had just barely avoided landing on some of these cases and the broken concrete that had preceded him when he'd fallen through. "You may have some luck on your side yet lad" he said with a grin.

2D didn't really hear because he was seated on a speaker with Gillian kneeling in front of him and twisting his right ankle, and he was trying not to squeal in pain. "It's not bad" she diagnosed, finally letting his foot go. "But we'll put some ice on it when we get back."

"Yeah, thanks" he said, gingerly trying to put weight on it.

Noodle had opened some of the cases by this point. She'd had most of her guitars removed when she had left Kong years ago, but here she'd found a couple of studio versions amongst everything else, all of it seemingly and inexplicably hidden away down here. "It doesn't make any sense" she said aloud.

"I take it this isn't normally where you'd store your instruments" Callum guessed.

"No" 2D replied, "This is where my bedroom was."

Gillian rolled her eyes. "You've got to learn the fine art of rhetoric Blue." She stood up and glanced around at the makeshift storage unit. "Where would all of this normally be found?"

"Upstairs" Noodle replied. "Usually it would all be kept in the studio. With the state of Kong right now I would've thought most of this would be in storage somewhere off-site if no one was using it."

Callum asked the obvious question. "So what's it doing down here?"

As much as she thought, Noodle couldn't figure out why. "I don't know."

Gillian wandered around a bit. "Well, who would've had everything moved?"

No one had the answer to that either. Gillian knew that if it had been her guitar or lute she would've kept them somewhere safe if her cottage was no longer inhabitable. So why would any of these musicians, who've all made music their trade, leave their precious instruments in the basement? After some more thought, Gillian pulled out her cell phone. No bars. She excused herself and made her way out through the corridor and cautiously climbed the stairwell until she was back in the ground floor lobby and could get reception.

****************************************************************************************************************************************************

The phone rang twice before it was lifted off the receiver. "Hello?"

"Steren, it's me. How're things?"

"Fine. Quiet. Are you coming back anytime soon? I had other plans for today you know."

"Sit tight, we've got a situation. Put Hobbs on the phone."

An audible huff could be heard, then a fluttering sound; after a minute heavy footsteps approached and the phone was lifted again. "Gillian? Is everyone alright?"

"Yes sir, we're fine. We had an encounter with hell's version of a lawyer down at the mouth, but thankfully he wasn't there to make trouble, just to tie up loose ends. How's Mr. Niccals?"

"Good I think; he's asleep, and has been pretty much the whole time. He was awake earlier, and had a bit of a panic attack when he found out where you'd gone, but I got him calmed down."

"Good work. I don't blame him for being panicked, considering his condition. Listen, we've come across something odd, and I was hoping you could shed some light on it."

"Um, okay…what's up?"

"Mr. Pot inadvertently fell through the ceiling of his bedroom. He's fine, but we discovered something when we went down to retrieve him. A whole collection of instruments and sound equipment seems to be stored down there."

There was a pause. "What? Wait, seriously?"

"No, I'm pulling your leg. _Yes _seriously, and both of your band mates are at a loss as to why they were placed down there. I understand those instruments would normally be stored in the studio or, considering the condition the studio is in right now, somewhere off-site."

"Yeah, they would. I don't know why they're down there. I know Noodle took some things with her when she left, and D and I took some instruments too. When I left there was some spare stuff still in the studio, but that room's just barely standing right now. Some of Murdoc's things were still there, but only because _he_ was still there. I thought that stuff would've been taken out long ago."

"So you have no idea at all?"

"Not a clue."

"Could it have been an outsider, maybe someone who broke in?"

"No, I don't think so. Nobody other than our band or you would have the guts to go in there. Plus Murdoc was still there, living in his Winnebago, up until he went down to hell to get Noodle. And why would someone break in to move our instruments to the basement?"

"I don't know. I figured with Miss Noodle's incarceration and Mr. Pot being a little slow on the catch for this kind of thing, you or Mr. Niccals would have something to do with this, or at least know about it."

"Well…now that I think of it I guess Murdoc would be the most likely person to have all of that moved down there, since he was there way after we'd all left, but I don't know why he would…" He trailed off for a second. "Wait…he said something earlier, when I told him that all of you had left for Kong, his first thought was…he said something about a search and rescue, and how you probably wouldn't find anything. Why would he say that-?"

"If he didn't know there was something to find" she finished.

There was another pause as they both considered this. "You want me to go ask him?" Russel asked.

"No, leave him be, he needs to rest. We'll sort this out. Keep an eye on things and call me if anything comes up."

"Yeah sure. Oh, if you find any of my drums, if you could-"

She smiled. "We'll take care of it. Cheers."

****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Gillian flipped the phone closed and made her way back down the stairwell, lost in thought.

By the time she got back to the bedroom many of the cases were lying open, an assortment of instruments strewn about as the two musicians and the lawyer took stock of what was there.

"What did Russel say?" Noodle asked when she saw Gillian come back in. The other two looked up as well.

"He didn't know about it either." Gillian came further into the room and crossed her arms. "But he seems to feel Mr. Niccals had something to do with it."

Noodle shook her head. "No, I don't get it. Murdoc doesn't care about a lot of things, but he _does_ care about our music. He would've never have just left these here without any…"

Everyone looked at her, waiting for her to finish that thought. "Any what?" 2D asked.

They realized she was staring at something in one of the corners. A stack of equipment had been tucked in there, but nothing really worth staring at.

What they didn't see, and what she had only just noticed, was an image on a black case just barely visible between two amplifiers. The image was a winged creature, and as soon as she saw it she knew she'd seen this case before…on every tour they ever did and around here at the studio.

Without a word she made her way over to the stack and moved everything until she could pull out what she wanted to see. She set the case on the floor and knelt in front of it. The case was covered with stickers, one of which was the winged creature she'd spotted, bearing the words she expected to find; Black Sabbath. Other stickers advertised bands like The Clash, Dr. Dre, AC/DC, Death from Above, etc. But the most distinctive qualities of this particular case were the long neck on one end and the giant V at the other.

"It can't be" Noodle whispered, almost to herself. With trembling hands she popped the clasps and opened the lid to find the red Gibson Flying V bass guitar nestled inside.

"2D" she said in shock, looking up at him from the floor, "This is El Diablo."

His mouth dropped open. "Holy fuck, are you sure?"

"Positive." She fingered the neck a little bit, feeling the vibrations and aura it gave off that reminded her sharply of hellfire and other charming qualities of the underworld. Murdoc's famous gift from hell, his most prized possession.

"Wait, _this_ is El Diablo?" Callum asked, looking a little star struck. Gillian didn't say anything. She seemed to be processing this.

"Alright, now I'm truly lost" Noodle admitted, sounding more and more frustrated. "This guitar is…it's practically sacred to him, as odd as that sounds. He wouldn't let anyone even _touch_ it. Why would he…why would he do _any_ of this?"

Gillian crouched down and took a closer look at the instrument before looking over her shoulder at her brother-in-law. "Callum, did Lil ever tell you the story of Arthur Wessex?"

That was such a random question to the band members they just stopped and stared at her for a moment, but then saw Callum's eyes widen as he put the pieces together. "Yes, she did tell me once." He smiled and shook his head. "You're right Gilly, I think that makes sense."

"What makes sense?" Noodle asked.

Gillian stood back up. "Sorry, we don't mean to talk in code. Arthur Wessex was an ancestor of ours, and I think his story may apply to what's happened here."

She paced around the room as she related the story. "Wessex lived during the mid 17th century, and like us he was a defender against dark forces. When he was in his thirties he found an enemy that he knew he could not defeat and live to tell about it. In our line of work we often have to make difficult decisions, and his decision was to die in order to take this creature out to protect his family and the innocent people nearby.

"Once he made his choice he got his affairs in order and said goodbye to his family. According to legend though, one of his last acts was to take his most esteemed possessions, things like his most used weapons or his most treasured books, and place them in his childhood home. The building was in disrepair and abandoned, and many who knew him wondered why he chose that house to leave some of the things he valued most."

She paused. "Many of us now believe that the reason he chose that location was two fold. Firstly, it was a place he knew, where so many important events of his life took place, and if there was the slightest hope in his heart that he would return these items would be somewhere he could find them. The second reason may have been that if he didn't return, then…this was a way to ensure that their use would end with him. The items would be swallowed up by the place he loved and taken down that way rather than be used by someone who would not appreciate them the way he had. Regardless, most agree that after that final act he went to meet his fate."

"Did…did he come back?" 2D asked.

Gillian shook her head. "No, he didn't. He died defeating the monster, and saved countless people by doing so. But we remember his story not just for his heroism, but also to relate to should we, God forbid, ever have to come to the decision he had to make. Also the story reminds us of the importance of settling our affairs if we're ever fortunate enough to have the chance."

She crouched down again near the bass guitar. "Now, I don't know this for certain, but my best guess is, looking at all of this…I think there's a very good chance that Mr. Niccals did not expect to come back from hell."

"No, that's not true" 2D protested. "He told us before he went down to wait for him to come back with Noodle."

"I think Blue…and again I'm speculating…that he _hoped_ to return, but…he's a smart man, and he must've known that the odds were drastically against him." As much as he wanted to, 2D couldn't argue the point. Noodle just sat still, listening.

Gillian went on. "Your bassist's motivation for leaving all of this down here may be along the same lines as Wessex. Even though the building is crumbling all around, the basement is likely to withstand most of the damage, so he would have the chance to retrieve them if he did return. If he didn't…then they'd eventually be swallowed up by the building where he accomplished so much, never to be used again. Putting everything down here…especially this" and she fingered the bass "could have been his way of regaining control over his circumstances, or perhaps of finalizing what he had to do in his own mind."

"Why in here, though?" Noodle asked. "The back end's a bit more stable. Why put everything in 2D's room?"

Gillian rested her elbows on her knees and folded her hands in front of her face, resting her mouth against them for a minute. "Once again I'm guessing, but…maybe if he had to choose between the two rooms in the basement, he…was more drawn to the room of his band mate." She eventually took a deep breath and let it out. "Anyway you two know him better than I do, are my theories making any sense at all?"

2D scratched his head as he tried to think about it. Noodle took her own deep breath, trying to stay composed. If Murdoc did do this, then she realized her impenetrable bassist had a moment of doubt when it came to his mission into hell. To her it now made sense; his pride _would_ lead him to bury all of this, including his beloved bass, away from anyone else who would use it for something less than what Gorillaz accomplished. Despite their problems, their issues in the past and their dysfunctions, as individuals and as a group, without all four of them they weren't a band…they weren't Gorillaz. She couldn't blame him for wanting to have it all sink into the ground if the band couldn't continue. And she couldn't forget that everything he had done this last week he had done for the band…and for her. "I think you may be right" she said quietly.

Gillian stood up. "Well, whether that's the case or not, what we've found here could be helpful." She quickly looked around the room to see what was available to them. "Now I don't claim to be a shrink, but I have had a little experience with staring death in the face, and in our tribe we all know people who have done the same. One of the most common reactions for people who've been through it is to second-guess their lives, and that can leave them feeling lost and rattled. I've been thinking about Mr. Niccals and his change in mood, and that may have something to do with it."

Callum, who had been standing quietly in the back, spoke up. "And there's a time honored course of action for the O'Dare's and their decedent's when they're in this situation."

"What's that?" Noodle asked, expecting some sort of tribal or spiritual solution.

"Normalcy" Callum replied. Noodle and 2D stared at him blankly, certain they were missing something.

Seeing their confused expressions, Gillian explained. "We believe that one of the best ways to help someone who's had a near death experience is to bring about a sense of normalcy, to remind them that they are still the same person at heart, regardless of what's happened. Mr. Niccals may need a bit of a push towards living again once he regains his strength, with a reminder of what he was living for before all this crap happened. And we're surrounded by items that can help us do that, especially this little piece of hell on the floor" and she nudged the case with her toe. "What do you lot think, do you think it will help?"

2D and Noodle shared a glance. "Well…" 2D began, "I think I see a keyboard over there."

Noodle smiled at that. "And there are a couple of old guitars," she added, "and a drum set."

Gillian smiled with them. "Callum, can you help us carry some of this back to the cottage? I think it's high time to bring a little music back into our lives."

* * *

So a lot of talk, a lot of angst, a lot of philosophy about life and death...it seemed appropriate.

The second part I tried to set in that void where phone conversations take place, and I wrote it to make it seem like someone was listening on a third line; because in some ways, dear readers, you were. Did I pull it off alright? More coming.


	26. Chapter 26

Hi again. Sorry for the delay. Things got busy and I wanted to get this just right. Take a look...

* * *

"Shit" Russel exclaimed from the doorway. "We could go on tour with all of that."

He was referring to the keyboard, drum set, electric guitar, bass and amplifier that Gillian, 2D, Noodle and Callum were now carrying up the walkway to the cottage. Though it was still grey and overcast, at least the rain had stopped for the time being. Hobbs stood aside and let them come in, and then helped them set everything around her sitting room, noticing with excitement that they had found drums. His fingers had begun to itch from lack of practice.

"Oh, finally" Steren said dramatically as she fluttered through the room. "The patient's fine, I'm out of here. I'll call off the guard." And she flew over their heads before anyone could protest.

"Good to see you Steren" Callum called after her as she zoomed out the open door and quickly became a speck in the distance.

"What guard?" Noodle asked.

Gillian was arranging a few items as she spoke. "Remember how you were worried about an attack on the cottage? Steren and I had a few of our friends keep an eye on the place while we were gone."

"Wait, there were people watching us?" Russel asked.

"Well…yes and no. They're not technically people."

Before he could ask what the hell they were if they weren't people, Callum interrupted. "Oh, you're Russel Hobbs" he said excitedly as he grabbed the drummers hand and shook it. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm a very big fan."

Russel was taken aback, but years of handling fans helped him keep his cool. "Thanks man…Who are you?"

Gillian quickly made the introductions, and they all recapped what had happened back at Kong. Hobbs' real shock came when Noodle showed him the black guitar case with the Gibson Flying V.

"Holy fuck" Russel gazed down, barely able to believe his eyes. "He left _this_ down there?" He took a breath as he realized what this new development, coupled with what he had seen earlier from their bassist, meant as a whole. "He must've been dealing with some heavy stuff."

"Is he still asleep?" Gillian asked as she brought in a bag of ice for 2D's ankle.

Russel nodded, "He really needs it" he added grimly, and though he didn't elaborate, Gillian got the idea that he had likely seen something in his band mate to convince him of that.

Callum rubbed a hand behind his neck. "I guess now's not a good time to meet the last member of the band?"

Gillian exhaled sharply. "Good guess. I know you're excited to meet him love but he needs rest and I doubt he'd appreciate strangers seeing him when he's in his current condition."

The lawyer held up his hands in surrender. "I understand Gilly. Well, I hate to be rude, but Lil's waiting for me to get home, and I mustn't keep the missus worrying. It was a pleasure to meet all of you."

"Thank you so much for helping us" Noodle said as she shook his hand. 2D and Russel also shook his hand and Gillian gave him a hug before he took off into the darkening countryside.

"Um, how's he going to get home?" Russel asked.

"The same way he came" Gillian answered and left it at that. "Dinner anyone?"

****************************************************************************************************************************************************

That evening and the next day and night were all a groggy blur for Murdoc. Having finally given into the idea that he needs all the rest he could get, he stopped fighting it and just slept.

Every now and then he would wake up for a while, and almost every time at least one person would be there waiting to pounce. Gillian would be there to examine him or change his bandages. If not her, than one or more of the band members would be there, with water or a bowl of soup. He took the examinations, the bandaging, the water and soup without complaint, because he didn't have the energy to protest. He didn't really talk either, except maybe to ask the time. And after they were done, he would drift back off. That's the way it went for about 36 hours.

****************************************************************************************************************************************************

The following morning he woke again to the very faint strains of an electric guitar.

He listened for a while, enjoying the sound, the rhythm…before he began to wonder who was playing. After a glance he saw that he was alone in the room, and came to the conclusion the music was coming from another part of the house. He could hear talking as well, a few conversations going on, but decided he would just ignore it and go back to sleep.

But then a few taps of a drum joined the guitar, and that made him take more notice. Where the hell did the drums come from? His curiosity overtook his desire for sleep, and for another few moments he debated with himself over what to do here, eventually coming to a decision; he'd been in this room long enough, it's time to try and see if he could still move.

Pulling off the sheets he got himself sitting up, and instantly his head spun. Shaking that off, he took stock of himself. He was wearing cotton pants, but no top, just bandages wrapped around his midsection. He tried to swing his legs over the edge, and his stomach protested painfully. Ignoring that too he dragged his legs over the side, and with both feet on the ground he sat with his hands on the mattress, trying to gage how much of a push he'd need to actually stand up.

The possibility that this may not be such a good idea _did_ cross his mind. The whole thing seemed like such a Herculean effort he nearly went back to the pillow. But then his stubbornness won out. _No fucking way,_ he thought;_ I am not spending one more minute in this bed. I am getting up._

Using his hands to push off he staggered to his feet. Once vertical he swayed for a minute, the room spinning and his stomach continuing to protest, but he didn't fall over. He made to reach out to the dresser, hoping to gain some leverage, and felt a tug on his arm, calling to mind that he still had the IV in. He reached to pull it out, but then thought better of it, deciding that a broken needle in his vein likely wouldn't help the situation. It had to come with him. Besides, the pole the saline was hanging off had wheels, which, as much as he hated to admit, meant it was something he could lean on to get around.

He grabbed the pole just before his legs gave out, and used it to stay upright. Forcing his feet to walk one in front of the other, he made himself move, working his way out of the bedroom and into a hallway, following the noise.

He hadn't seen this part of the house yet, at least not while he was conscious. The progress was slow, one hand on the IV pole, one hand on the wall. But he was doing it, he was moving. Finally he got to the sitting room…with kitchen adjacent, all very charming. No one noticed him yet, so he leaned heavily against the side of the hallway, trying not to exert any more energy than was necessary, and watched this rather amusing scene.

An open space in the middle of the room had been made by pushing everything against the walls and under the large window. Gillian was engrossed in showing 2D how to use a staff, while simultaneously keeping him from damaging anything.

"What you've got to remember" she was saying, "is that you rarely use the middle of the staff. It's almost always the ends, whether you come in from the side" and she swung low, "or in a jabbing motion" and she demonstrated that as well. 2D tried it and came very close to getting one end of it caught on a ceiling lamp. "Watch the lamp, watch the lamp!" Gillian shouted.

Murdoc stifled a laugh. As their singer apologized he looked off to the side to find Noodle sitting on the back of the pushed-aside couch, strumming a guitar, with Russ on a small drum kit keeping time. The whole scene was all rather homey in its own bizarre way.

It would've gone on for a while longer had Gillian not glanced in his direction, and seeing him her eyes grew wide. "Oh my God!" she shouted and dropped her staff, which unfortunately then got tangled in 2D's feet and caused him to fall over. She didn't seem to notice, instead focused on getting to the bassist. "What in hell are you doing up?"

He shrugged; shit, even _that_ hurt. "Heard the music" he replied simply.

She tried to take his arm. "Get back to bed right now." Her tone left no room for dispute, but he was going to anyway.

"Sod off, I'm fine" he told her as he tried to shrug her off, but obviously had no luck.

"You are _not_ fine; you're better but you're far from fine." She looked over her shoulder at the stunned guitarist and drummer. "Help me out here, would you?"

2D was sitting on the floor watching all of this with some alarm; still if Muds was arguing he must be feeling better. Noodle and Russel made a move towards Murdoc, but he managed to move away. "Fuck off, just let me get out of that room for a while. Ten minutes, that's all I ask. You want cabin fever on top of everything else?"

Gillian groaned in frustration. "At the very least let's get you onto the couch."

"Oh, come off it, really, I'm fi-"

"Niccals _sit_ down before you _fall_ down."

They got him onto the couch, and he tried not to let it show how happy he was to get off his feet, and how much that little trip down the hallway exhausted him. He was still smiling though. He liked Gillian when she was mad.

After she sorted out the IV pole she made her annoyance plain. "What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack? That's a real smart move, scaring to death the only person who can patch you up after you pull a bone headed move like that." She looked him over, checking the bandages, making sure the stitches were still in place, etc. "Well, it looks like you didn't cause any major damage." She shook her head. "Unbelievable. Do you know what could've happened, you silly sod?"

He brushed it off. "Well it didn't happen, did it? I was just curious where the music was coming from, so calm down, nobody died." His tone inadvertently changed with those last two words, and he saw that they noticed it too, as everyone regarded him strangely. Hoping to change the subject he looked over at 2D, who was still on the floor. "Wouldn't it make more sense to do the Friar Tuck thing outside, where you're not going to break the house apart?"

2D got to his feet. "It's raining" he pointed out.

Niccals looked out the window and saw that it was in fact raining, and wondered how he didn't notice that before. "Ah well, God forbid anybody get _wet_." He would've said more but then felt very nauseous, and had to focus on not retching on the carpet.

"You going to be sick?" Russel asked.

"No" he choked out. _Keep swallowing, keep swallowing…_

"Breathe Niccals." A waste basket appeared next to him; once again, the healer was fast on the draw. But by that point he had it under control.

Gillian sighed audibly. "I'm going to get something to settle your stomach. Keep the bin nearby."

Once she left, Noodle sat down beside Murdoc. "As happy as we are to see you up and about, I wish you would've waited until you were a little stronger."

Russel leaned against the side of the couch. "I gotta agree. You know you're the same color as the ceiling, right?" he pointed out.

Murdoc looked up at white plaster ceiling and shrugged. "What were you expecting; for me to emerge from my death bed fresh as a daisy?"

Again, the mention of death had an effect, and Russel moved on from that topic, softening his tone. "Do you need anything?"

"Nah" he replied, trying to sound unfazed, though nobody really bought it.

Noodle folded her hands in her lap. "We spoke to a representative from hell over at Kong. It looks like we're in the clear."

"Brilliant" was all he said. Now that he had had a couple of days sleep and he was thinking clearly, Murdoc wasn't surprised by that outcome. He had been fairly certain he'd covered all the bases. Still, appreciation was due. "Thanks" he mumbled, keeping his eyes down.

There was an awkward pause. Hoping to break the tension he saw the guitar Noodle had set aside and the drum set nearby, and though he had an inkling of where they had come from, he asked anyway. "Where'd you get all the hardware?"

"From Kong" Noodle replied, "but you already knew that, didn't you?" That was what they were all dying to ask him about, but didn't know whether to push him for details.

Niccals kept his face neutral. "I'm guessing you got in the basement?"

"Yes we did."

"I fell through the ceiling into my room" 2D added.

Murdoc just looked at him for a moment, and then began to laugh. It clearly hurt him to do so, but the others were still happy to see him do it, even 2D. "Why am I not surprised" he finally got out as he clutched at his chest and stomach, fighting the urge to throw up again. "Shit, I can't laugh right now."

Gillian reappeared with a glass filled with what looked like cloudy water and pushed it into his hand. "Drink this down."

He eyed it suspiciously. "What is it?"

"Powdered ginger and peppermint mixed in water. It'll help with any residual nausea…which you brought on yourself, by the way."

He shot her a glare, but drank the concoction. "Hmm…" he raised his eyebrows in surprise as he handed the glass back to Gillian, "it's not bad."

It was becoming clear that he was running out of steam rapidly, and Noodle wanted to show him the big issue while they had him. "Murdoc we found something else while we were at Kong." She hopped off the couch and made her way over to the closet by the front door, quickly emerging with the black, V shaped guitar case.

As soon as he saw what it was he got very still, the amazement plain on his face. "Cripes, you found it" he said breathlessly.

She brought it to him, setting it on his lap. He ran his hands across the edges for a second before popping the clasps and taking a look at what lay inside; _his_ bass guitar, just as he had left it.

"I didn't think I'd…" he began, before remembering that he wasn't alone. He composed himself somewhat, but still lifted the instrument from the case. No one in the band was prepared for when he nearly dropped it, due to weakness, but they knew him well enough not to comment on it. Noodle merely helped him lift it back up onto his lap and moved the case away to give him room.

"You know" she said, "Gillian's been working on her own songs for a while, and we've been helping her put one together the last couple of days while you've been resting." She looked over at the healer. "Do you think we could run through it? It really needs a base line."

Gillian was reluctant. Rest was what was really called for here, especially after that ridiculous trek through the house. But at the same time a little jam fest could prove helpful, if not physically than in other areas. Besides, she saw the hopeful looks on his band mates. She sighed again. "Get the keyboard out, I'll get my guitar." She held up a finger though. "Just one run through, I'm not kidding."

Within minutes they were arranged around the room on couches and chairs. Gillian was still worried whether or not the bassist was up to this, but they all knew he wasn't going to back down.

Russel began on drums, tapping out the up-tempo rhythm, and 2D started on the keyboards. Noodle and Gillian came in on their guitars, with Gillian adding vocals. Murdoc listened for a minute, counting out the drum beats. After a moment of hesitation, knowing everyone was watching him, he came in on base.

And…it was good, surprising even him. What he came up with matched the song nicely, and he managed to keep time as they jammed together through it. Noodle even tried out a solo halfway through. It felt just like old times; Gillian was just another in a long line of collaborators.

Once finished Murdoc leaned against the couch and closed his eyes, his hands still on his bass, exhausted but somehow …content. What he wasn't aware of, and what everyone else in the room could see was that he had the slightest smile on his lips, a genuine smile, something they hadn't seen in a while.

"You ready to get back to bed Mr. Niccals?" Gillian asked as she set her own instrument aside.

He opened his eyes and cocked a brow to her. "Time's up warden?" He sighed and tried to sit up again. "Yeah, I'm coming; I just…had to see…you know?"

She did know. So did Noodle and Russel. 2D looked confused, but they'd explain it to him later.

"To bed with you" Gillian declared. "We'll work on the song later. And you are going to _stay_ in bed. If you pull a stunt like this again I'm chaining you to the wall."

"Yeah yeah, sure sure" he replied lethargically, but still with a grin. As they helped him back to his room, there was confidence all around that despite only taking a few steps today, leaps and bounds had been made in other areas.

* * *

Again, warm fuzzies.

I've been listening to the Ting Tings the last little while, and I had the song "Fruit Machine" in my head when I was writing the scene where they had their little jam fest, so I admit there are some similarities. It's a great song though, check it out if you haven't yet.

I think the next chapter will be the last; it's just gotten to that point (I know, I know). See you soon.


	27. Epilogue

Finally back.

Ugh, you would not believe what I've been through to get this last chapter up and running. I spent extra time on it because I wanted it to be just right, no surprise there. But then my computer started giving me problems and now I'm officially without internet access at home, so I've had to run around and find a way to get this online. It's been one long, crazy process man.

Anyway, let's wrap this puppy up.

* * *

_Three weeks later…_

Noodle packed up the last of the few items she had lingering around the cottage. Since they'd been there they'd acquired clothes and other items from trips into town or from what they could salvage from Kong. The instruments they had recovered had already been sent off with a hired truck yesterday, and now they were just getting the last of their things.

She glanced out the window and smiled at what she saw. Gillian and 2D were getting in one last sparring match out on the lawn, each of them armed with fighting staffs. Over the last few weeks 2D had gotten much better with the staff, and Gillian had been a patient and effective teacher. The singer was still no match for the healer however, and at the moment he was struggling to keep her at bay. Noodle couldn't hear what was being said, but she had the impression that Gillian was goading him on and he, pacifist that he is, was just trying not to get hit.

Their final weeks in the cottage had been quiet, and everyone had had a chance to rest, which is what they so badly needed. During peaceful evenings Gillian had regaled them all with stories and legends passed down through generations of Celts. Noodle had passed much of the time with her guitar, working on new music, often joined by the other band members and even Gillian on occasion. 2D had focused on learning this fighting skill. Russel had even gotten back into taxidermy here, but did everything outside so their hostess wouldn't throw a fit. .

And Murdoc…

They all agreed he had recovered rather nicely, all things considered. The band had been able to observe the myriad of healing arts Gillian's clan has employed over the centuries and combined with traditional medicine. They got their first exposure to things like reflexology, crystal energies, incense and healing baths which all intended to promote a realignment of chakras and to purify the physical being…or at least that's how she explained it.

Murdoc, though skeptical, took all of this with a grain of salt…at least during the first week or so. But, as they had feared, as he got stronger and spent more time awake eventually all that time spent in bed made him bored and restless. Distractions had to be employed to keep him from driving himself and everyone else mad. His bass was always within reach; you didn't have to be standing to write music. A stereo and headphones were made available so he could listen to the radio as he lay there. He even read through Gillian's books, devouring the titles on demonology and the Druids, and even looking over tomes she had on celtic history and earth magic.

The bed rest, and Gillian's skills, all had an effect. By the end of these last few weeks he wasn't completely well, and likely wouldn't be for a long time, but he was up and about and engaged in everything going on. And with that they had slowly but surely made slight steps back into the rest of the world. They had even gone out to a pub in a nearby town to listen to Gillian perform folk music with some friends of hers (though the band sat in the back, in case they were recognized, which they weren't in that small a town, much to their surprise).

But the time had come. Gillian had removed Murdoc's stitches and he had healed enough that he could strike out on his own without medical supervision, and they needed to get back to their old lives…which was a bit of a frightening thought for Noodle, if she was being honest. She had spent the last two years in hell, and was unsure how she would meld back into the world of the living. So far she hadn't had much exposure other than the cottage and the one night in the pub where no one recognized them. How would she fare back in the spotlight, or back in big cities, or just…anywhere?

Another issue was the fact that, simply put, she was going to miss Gillian; they would all miss her, but Noodle in particular. As much as she loved her boys, they…well, they were boys. It had been nice having another girl around, someone to spar with, to play music with and to just to talk woman to woman with. Noodle had thought about asking Gillian to come with them. They could surely find a place for her at Kong and on tour, either as a musician or someone behind the scenes. But the more she thought about it, the more she knew that Gillian would never abandon her responsibilities to her clan.

Frowning, she zipped up her duffel bag and then her jacket, and grabbed the bag to head outside.

The rain had tapered off for the time being. Once she had stepped onto the front lawn Noodle found Murdoc sitting in a chair watching the sparring match with his feet propped up on his bag. Since he had gotten back on his feet he had been forced to walk with a cane, and right now he was twirling it absently in his hand. He joked that it made him look like even more of a geezer, but he heeded Gillian's advice and used it, and he probably would need it for a while longer. Noodle sat down on the lawn beside him.

"Come on now" Gillian was saying as she took another swing at their singer, not pulling any punches. "Stop _trying_ to hit me and hit me."

2D blocked the swing, but just barely. "Come off it, I don't want to actually hit you."

"You're not going to hurt me." She tried from overhead, which he blocked again.

"Er, yeah, I think I am" he replied breathlessly as he blocked another blow. "You know what a tosser I am with this kind of thing."

"I'll take my changes." She tried to go down low, and he deflected quickly.

"Come on mate lay her out flat" Murdoc spoke up from his seat. "Knock her right down on her arse."

Gillian turned to the heckler from the sidelines with a raise of her brows. "Is this about the acupuncture incident?"

"Yes it is" he replied coolly, with that famous oily smile.

She turned back to her opponent. "Regardless of his reasons, he's right. Come on, we've been over this. Take a swing at me. It's the only way you'll learn."

Russel had come out now with his own bag and stood on Murdoc's other side to see how this panned out.

2D finally seemed to make an actual attempt at an offensive maneuver, but then she grabbed at her side and cried out in pain.

"Oh shit!" the singer exclaimed as he came closer to her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Without warning she had both hands on her staff again and she knocked his feet out from under him. He sprawled out on the ground with a grunt, still with his staff in his hand, and was blocked from getting back up by Gillian placing the end of her staff on his chest.

"That's an important lesson Blue" Gillian said as she loomed over him. "Don't get close to your opponent unless you're sure they are incapacitated. Otherwise this is what happens." She moved the staff aside and reached a hand out to him to help him up.

He reached up to take it, but then inhaled sharply and reached around to his back with his free hand. "Ah, fuck, I think I've bruised something."

Gillian crouched down, suddenly all professional. "Where does it hurt?"

Once she was down low 2D quickly used his staff to twist Gillian around and push her onto the ground, where he got on top of her, pinning her down with his weapon.

"Blimey" Murdoc breathed, leaning forward. There was a moment of stunned silence from all…but then Gillian began to laugh.

"Very good mate; nicely played."

2D looked as shocked as anyone, but then smiled. "Yeah, I did that, didn't I?" He got off her and stood up, reaching his hand out to pull _her_ up, which she took.

Once on her feet she looked over at the other three with their bags. "Is it that time?"

"Yeah I think so" Russel said. "The trucks are over at the studio getting the last of the instruments and we can hitch a ride with them."

"You've got a place to stay?" she asked, not for the first time.

"We're all set up" Noodle confirmed.

While Noodle and Russel helped Murdoc to his feet, 2D grabbed his bag and handed back the staff he'd been using. Gillian held up a hand. "Keep it mate."

"What? No, I, I couldn't."

"Sure you could. You've earned it. Get some practice in with it. I'm sure Miss Noodle would be a great sparring partner. Just make sure she doesn't hurt you."

The singer broke into a smile and made to give Gillian a hug, but stopped short, apparently due to shyness. With a shrug of her shoulders she closed the distance and put her arms around him, and he followed her lead, still with the staff in his hand.

"Thank you…I mean, for everything" he said.

She gave him an extra squeeze. "You did great these last few weeks Blue. I'm proud of you."

"We can come back and visit, right?" he asked as they pulled away.

"Of course you can you silly twit. Now go" she gave him a playful shove "go show off those vocals. I want to hear you on the radio soon."

Once 2D stepped aside Russel came in and unexpectedly enveloped the healer in a bear hug, lifting her off the ground and causing her to giggle in surprise. "You really came through for us" he said. "And you did it while putting up with me. I don't how we could thank you."

She managed to pat him on the back from her elevated position. "You just did. And I couldn't have done it without all of you." Once he set her down and she got her feet sorted out she asked "Um…those _projects_ you were working on…they're not still…"

He chuckled and shook his head. "No, they've been sent away."

"Good, I don't want to come across any of that on my rounds, I've got enough to worry about."

He laughed again and began to walk away. "Don't be a stranger" he said as he walked backwards, still facing her. "We'll lay a track down on our next album with you." She laughed dismissively while he made his way over to 2D.

Noodle made sure that Murdoc was steady on his feet with his cane and bag and then she approached Gillian. "You got a goodbye for me too love?" the healer asked. Noodle dropped her bag and jumped into Gillian's arms, holding on tight.

"Thank you" the guitarist said quietly. "Thank you."

"Anytime love" Gillian assured her. Once Noodle was set down the healer took her face in both hands; "My sister of the sword." She moved her hands down to Noodle's shoulders. "I know you're worried about getting back out there, and that's a perfectly reasonable feeling, but if these last few weeks are any indication there is very little you can't handle. Trust in yourself and in your band, and you'll do fine, I've no doubt. Just take it slow. You'll know when it feels right."

Noodle smiled and hugged her again. "I'll come visit every chance I get." The guitarist promised; "I don't want you to be so alone anymore."

"My door's always open love." Noodle smiled and pulled away so Murdoc could have his chance. He hobbled over to Gillian and they stood for a moment in silence.

"So…where would someone go and find one of these?" he asked as he regarded his cane with some displeasure.

She smiled. "You'll be healed up long before you need another one." She pointed to the bag hanging off his shoulder. "I've packed all your medication, and I'm hoping against hope that you'll continue to stay off the booze and cigs, at least for the time being, but the second something goes wrong, or even if you feel the slightest bit off I want you to come back and see me, or at the very least see a doctor."

"Nah, I'll come see you, I don't need a fucking doctor poking and prodding and asking questions I don't want to answer." There was an uncomfortable pause, and she waited patiently for him to gather his thoughts.

"Er" he said awkwardly, rubbing a hand behind his neck, looking down at his feet. "I don't know how to say this without sounding like a utter ponce but…you pulled my fat out of the fire…several times over…and…I won't forget it. So…thank you."

When he finally looked up at her she was still smiling. She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, which frankly was the last thing he expected.

"You have a lot to offer, Mudoc Niccals" she said. "I know I've overloaded you with plenty of advice, and we've spoken about a few things already, but try to keep it in mind. Just, for the love of God, take it easy, at least until you finish healing. Don't rush into anything." She nodded her head in the direction of his band. "And be kind to them. I couldn't have helped you all on my own, you know."

He glanced over at them before turning back to her and nodded. But then he grinned playfully. "Hey, when I'm nice and limber again maybe I can find a way to thank you properly" he said as he gave her a knowing look.

She rolled her eyes with an incredulous laugh. "Must you cheapen the moment?"

"Well, of course love. You expected anything less?"

She began to lightheartedly but carefully push him towards the others. "Get out of here you wanker." She proceeded to shoo the rest of them off as well. "Go on, get out of here, the lot of you, go be rock stars, put out a new album, go meet other famous people, all that rubbish."

They waved at her as they began to make their way across the countryside. "Thank you. Say goodbye to Steren for us" Noodle called back.

Gillian waved at them again and watched them as they made their way over the Essex hills, and then went back into her noticeably empty cottage, back to her life and responsibilities, but with the knowledge that she had made some lasting friends.

******************************************************************************************************************************************************

As they walked along the hills, literally off into the sunset, they moved in silence for the time being, as they took stock of where they were coming from and where they were going.

"D, I know you got some fags on you" Murdoc said out of the blue. The band shared a glance at each other, all of them concerned over him starting to smoke again when he was still walking with a cane.

Seeing their faces, he laughed. "Don't anyone blow a gasket, I'm not asking for one" he went on. "Just like to know they're on hand."

They kept walking for a while, Kong coming into view on the horizon. "You know" Mudoc spoke up again. "This whole thing…this would make a great movie."

The three of them turned to him again, staring incredulously, before Russel chuckled and shook his head. "Muds, shut up."

They all smiled, and made their way back to their lives together.

* * *

And....scene. So there it is, my first fanfiction submission finished. Yay!! I hope that was satisfactory for everyone. Loose ends tied up and all that.

I'm not sure what's going to happen next, but I've got a few ideas cooking. Maybe a prequel, or a sequel once phase three of Gorillaz begins with their new album (which will hopefully be soon, I can't wait). Maybe a one off. Or maybe I'll work on other things. I don't know, but keep your eyes peeled.

Some people I have to thank. First is Glasscase of Emotions, who has given me such kind words of praise for nearly every single chapter, and I've always looked forward to reading her reviews. Thank you to Swizzerz, Denki no Usagi, ECE23 and Hiezen for also reviewing my story and giving such great feedback. And to everyone else who's taken a peak at my little project thanks for tuning in, I really appreciate it.

Cheers everybody. See you soon.


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